Johann Sebastian Bach is the German born composer and performer of Baroque classical music, the author of such masterpieces as “Mass in B Minorâ€, “The Well-Tempered Clavier†and the “Brandenburg Concertosâ€. It was almost impossible for Johann Sebastian Bach not to be a musician – he descended from a long generational line of such. He was a beautiful singer in his youth (until the dreaded voice change), and played the violin, harpsichord and organ, as well as composing. Early positions as church organist brought him into conflict with the clergy over his independent streak and his tendency to do things his own way. More successfully, he served as court composer to both Prince Leopold and August III. Bach was very popular as a performing organist, but it took until the 19th century for his formidable genius as a composer to be recognized. Today, he is classed with the “three Bs†(Beethoven and Brahms) as being the acknowledged giants of the field. Almost as prolific a progenitor as a composer, Bach fathered twenty (!) children between his two wives.
