| Eisenach |
March 21, 1685 |
Born |
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May 1694 |
Bach's mother died |
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February 1695 |
Bach's father died |
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| Ohrdruf |
early 1695 |
Orphaned at 9 years old, Bach moved to his older brother's house
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Entered the Ohrdruf Lyceum |
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Lüneburg
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Easter 1700 |
Entered the choir of St. Michael's Cloister |
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The great organist Georg Böhm was then at St. John's in Lüneburg
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Often walked to Celle to hear the Duke's French orchestra |
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Occasionally travelled to Hamburg to hear Johann Adam Reinken
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| Weimar |
April 8, 1703 |
Briefly served Duke Johann Ernst as a musician |
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| Arnstadt |
August 9, 1703 |
Appointed court organist |
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Studied the works of the celebrated organists of the period
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October 1705 |
Walked to Lübeck to hear Buxtehude |
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November 1706
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Reprimanded for allowing a 'stranger maiden' into the sanctuary
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October 17, 1707 |
Married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach |
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June 29, 1707 |
Resigned |
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| Mülhausen |
June 15, 1707 |
Appointed organist of St. Blasius |
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June 25, 1708 |
Requested his release from employment |
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| Weimar |
July 14, 1708 |
Appointed court organist to the Duke of Weimar |
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| Composition: |
English Suites (before 1720) |
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March 2, 1714 |
Promoted to concertmaster, requiring him to write cantatas
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Fall of 1717
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Traveled to Dresden for a contest with the French harpsichord
virtuoso Louis Marchand
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Requested his dismissal |
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November 6, 1717 |
Jailed for one month for "forcing the question of his
dismissal"
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December 2, 1717 |
received unfavorable discharge |
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| Cöthen |
August 5, 1717 |
Appointed capellmaster to the Court of Cöthen |
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| Compositions: |
Solo violin and cello suites (circa 1720) |
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Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 (1722) |
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July 7, 1720 |
Bach's wife Maria Barbara died |
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November 1720 |
Played for Reinken in Hamburg - "I thought this art was
dead"
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December 3, 1721 |
Married Anna Magdalena Wülken |
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| Leipzig |
April 1723 |
Appointed director of music and cantor to the Thomas-Schule,
succeeding Kuhnau
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| Compositions: |
Inventions & Sinfonias (1723) |
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French Suites (1722–1725) |
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Clavier-Übung, Part I (1726–1731) |
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Clavier-Übung, Part II (1735) |
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Clavier-Übung, Part III (1739) |
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Clavier-Übung, Part IV (1742) |
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Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2 (1744) |
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Art of the Fugue (1742–1746) |
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February 1729
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Appointed capellmaster to Duke of Weissenfels |
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Took over direction of the collegium musicum |
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November 19, 1736 |
Appointed court composer to King-Elect of Poland-Saxony |
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May 1747 |
Visited Potsdam, met King Frederick the Great |
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January 20, 1749 |
Daughter Elisabeth Juliana Friederica married Johann Christoph
Altnikol
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March 1750 |
Had eye operation |
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July 28, 1750 |
Died |