• Name: Johann Sebastian Bach
• Birthday: 03/21/1685
• Birth Place: Eisenach, Germany
• Died: 07/28/1750
• Place of Death: Leipzig, Germany
• Period: Baroque
• Genre: Classical

Title	Release
Classical Christmas Highlights	2006
Enfants Classiques: Le Meilleur de Bach	2005
St. John Passion	2003
The Perfect Bach	2002
Brandenburg Concerti 2, 5 & 6	1998
Solo Journey: Night Moods	1997
Bach: In Harmony with the Sea	1996
Christmas Oratorio	1990
Christmas Oratorio Arias
Christmas Oratorio/Jochum
(393) Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046
(582) Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047
(579) Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048
(409) Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049
(459) Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050
(299) Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B flat major, BWV 1051
(231) Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, for keyboard in D minor, BWV 903 (BC L34)
(595) Concerto for 2 violins, strings & continuo in D minor ("Double"), BWV 1043
(244) Concerto for harpsichord, strings & continuo No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052
(377) Concerto for violin, strings & continuo No. 1 in A minor, BWV 1041 WA	2008
(440) Concerto for violin, strings & continuo No. 2 in E major, BWV 1042
(79) English Suite, for keyboard No. 1 in A major, BWV 806 (BC L13)	2008
(227) Fantasia and Fugue, for organ in G minor ("Great"), BWV 542 (BC J42, 57, 67)
(155) French Suite, for keyboard No. 5 in G major, BWV 816 (BC L23)	2008
(528) Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9)
(397) Italian Concerto, for solo keyboard in F major (Clavier-Übung II/1), BWV 971 (BC L7)
(104) Jesu, meine Freude, motet for 5-part chorus, BWV 227 (BC C5)
(227) Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major, BWV 1066 WA
(1613) Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068
(478) Partita for solo violin No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004
(258) Passacaglia and Fugue, for organ in C minor, BWV 582 (BC J79)
(272) Prelude and Fugue, for keyboard No. 1 in C major (WTC I/1), BWV 846 (BC L80)
(47) Prelude and Fugue, for keyboard No. 22 in B flat minor (WTC I/22), BWV 867 (BC L101)
(93) Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, motet for chorus, BWV 225 (BC C1)
(103) Sonata for flute & keyboard in B minor, BWV 1030	2007
(310) Sonata for solo violin No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001	1989
(88) Sonata for violin & keyboard No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1014
(91) Sonata for violin & keyboard No. 2 in A major, BWV 1015	1958
(113) Sonata for violin & keyboard No. 3 in E major, BWV 1016	1958
(109) Sonata for violin & keyboard No. 4 in C minor, BWV 1017	1958
(405) Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
(9) The Well-Tempered Clavier (48), collection of preludes & fugues in 2 Books, BWV 846-893 (BC L80-127) WA	2008
(794) Toccata and Fugue, for organ in D minor, BWV 565 (BC J37)	1989
(50) Two-Part Invention, for keyboard No. 4 in D minor, BWV 775 (BC L45)
(93) Two-Part Invention, for keyboard No. 8 in F major, BWV 779 (BC L49)
(5) Alles mit Gott, nichts ohn' ihn, sacred song for voice & continuo, BWV 1127	2005
(2) Concerto for 3 trumpets, timpani, 3 oboes, bassoon, strings & continuo in D major, BWV deest	2000
Kyrie-Christe, for 5-part chorus & continuo in F major, BWV 233a (BC E7) WA	2003
(28) Cantata No. 14, "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit," BWV 14 (BC A40)
(22) Cantata No. 25, "Es ist nichts Gesundes an meinem Leibe," BWV 25 (BC A129)
(28) Cantata No. 24, "Ein ungefärbt Gemüte," BWV 24 (BC A102)
(24) Verschiedene Canones (14), for unspecified instruments or keyboard, BWV 1087	1976
(10) Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ, chorale setting for 4 voices, BWV 253 (BC F35)	1998
(87) Ach bleib' bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ, chorale prelude for organ ("Schübler No. 5"), BWV 649 (BC K26)	2008
(51) Ach Gott und Herr, chorale prelude "per canonem" for organ, BWV 714 (BC K172)
(8) Ach Gott und Herr, chorale prelude for organ (by J. G. Walther, not JSB), BWV 692 WA	1990
(8) Ach Gott und Herr, chorale prelude for organ (by J. G. Walther, not JSB), BWV 693 WA	1990
(10) Ach Gott und Herr, chorale setting for 4 voices, BWV 255 (BC F2)	1998
(28) Ach Gott vom Himmel sieh darein, chorale prelude for organ, BWV 741 (BC K135)	1995
(10) Ach Gott, erhör' mein Seufzen, chorale setting for 4 voices, BWV 254 (BC F1)	1998

Johann Sebastian Bach was better known as a virtuoso organist than as a composer in his day. His sacred music , organ and choral works, and other instrumental music had an enthusiasm and seeming freedom that concealed immense rigor. Bach's use of counterpoint was brilliant and innovative, and the immense complexities of his compositional style -- which often included religious and numerological symbols that seem to fit perfectly together in a profound puzzle of special codes -- still amaze musicians today. Many consider him the greatest composer of all time.

Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685. He was taught to play the violin and harpsichord by his father, Johann Ambrosius, a court trumpeter in the service of the Duke of Eisenach. Young Johann was not yet ten when his father died, leaving him orphaned. He was taken in by his recently married oldest brother, Johann Christoph, who lived in Ohrdruf. Because of his excellent singing voice, Bach attained a position at the Michaelis monastery at Lüneberg in 1700. His voice changed a short while later, but he stayed on as an instrumentalist. After taking a short-lived post in Weimar in 1703 as a violinist, Bach became organist at the Neue Kirche in Arnstadt (1703-1707). His relationship with the church council was tenuous as the young musician often shirked his responsibilities, preferring to practice the organ. One account describes a four-month leave granted Bach, to travel to Lubeck where he would familiarize himself with the music of Dietrich Buxtehude. He returned to Arnstadt long after was expected and much to the dismay of the council. He then briefly served at St. Blasius in Mühlhausen as organist, beginning in June 1707, and married his cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, that fall. Bach composed his famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565) and his first cantatas while in Mühlhausen, but quickly outgrew the musical resources of the town. He next took a post for the Duke of Sachsen-Weimar in 1708, serving as court organist and playing in the orchestra, eventually becoming its leader in 1714. He wrote many organ compositions during this period, including his Orgel-Büchlein. Owing to politics between the Duke and his officials, Bach left Weimar and secured a post in December 1717 as Kapellmeister at Cöthen. In 1720, Bach's wife suddenly died, leaving him with four children (three others had died in infancy). A short while later, he met his second wife, soprano Anna Magdalena Wilcke, whom he married in December 1721. She would bear 13 children, though only five would survive childhood. The six Brandenburg Concertos (BWV 1046-51), among many other secular works, date from his Cöthen years. Bach became Kantor of the Thomas School in Leipzig in May 1723 and held the post until his death. It was in Leipzig that he composed the bulk of his religious and secular cantatas. Bach eventually became dissatisfied with this post, not only because of its meager financial rewards, but also because of onerous duties and inadequate facilities. Thus, he took on other projects, chief among which was the directorship of the city's Collegium Musicum, an ensemble of professional and amateur musicians who gave weekly concerts, in 1729. He also became music director at the Dresden Court in 1736, in the service of Frederick Augustus II; though his duties were vague and apparently few, they allowed him freedom to compose what he wanted. Bach began making trips to Berlin in the 1740s, not least because his son Carl Philipp Emanuel served as a court musician there. In May 1747, the composer was warmly received by King Frederick II of Prussia, for whom he wrote the gloriously abstruse Musical Offering (BWV 1079). Among Bach's last works was his 1749 Mass in B minor. Besieged by diabetes, he died on July 28, 1750. ~ Robert Cummings, All Music Guide