Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and organist of the late Baroque period. Orphaned young, he trained under his elder brother Johann Christoph Bach at Ohrdruf and through self-study, then held posts as organist, court musician, and church music director across Thuringia and Saxony. His largest body of work came at Leipzig, where he served as Thomaskantor from 1723 until his death, producing cantatas, passions, keyboard collections, and instrumental works. His output is noted for contrapuntal density and structural rigor. Widely revived in the nineteenth century after a period of relative neglect, his music became a foundation of the Western concert and pedagogical repertoire.