12 Tremendous Composers 12 Composers    

Lesson 4: The Well-Tempered Clavier - Prelude in Fugue No.1 in C major

by Johann Sebastian Bach

Performer: Kimiko Ishizaka

Directions

Study the musical selection for one week.

Over the week:

• Listen to the music daily.
• Read the synopsis.
• Review the vocabulary terms.
• Read about the composer.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Study the review questions.

Synopsis

The next tremendous composer is named Johann Sebastian Bach, and his story is called, "The Story of the Boy who Sang in the Streets." The overarching Bach work featured in this lesson, "The Well-Tempered Clavier" consists of two books totaling 48 compositions across all 24 major and minor keys. The featured piece, "Prelude in Fugue No.1 in C major," is the opening composition in the first book.

Vocabulary

Composer: One who writes music.
Clavier: The keyboard of an organ, pianoforte, or harmonium.
Prelude: A short, free-form piece of music, originally one serving as an introduction to a longer and more complex piece.

Composer

1. This is the famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

2. Johann Sebastian Bach was born in 1685 in the town of Eisenach, Germany. This is a house in Eisenach that was turned into a museum honoring Bach. The house looks very much the same today as it did when Sebastian was a little boy. Many people go there to visit the Bach museum because the little boy grew to be a famous man.

3. In Leipzig there is a statue of Bach near St. Thomas Church.

4. In the same town in which Johann Sebastian Bach was born there stands on the top of a hill a very famous castle built many hundreds of years ago. This castle is called the Wartburg. As a boy little Sebastian used to climb the hill with his friends, and they, no doubt, had a happy time playing about the castle grounds. In one of its great halls the minstrels of Germany held their Song Contests.

5. When Sebastian was old enough, he used to travel afoot, just as the minstrels did; his purpose was to go to hear fine organ players. Once as he sat weary by the roadside someone threw a herring to him so that he might eat as he rested. Find the herring in the picture of Bach.

6. Little Sebastian's father was named Johann Ambrosius Bach. He, too, was a musician, as his people had been for many years.

7. One of Johann Sebastian Bach's ancestors was a miller who played and sang while the corn was grinding. His name was Veit Bach, and his little boy was called Hans, the Player, because he, too, loved to play the violin. Find Veit Bach and his son Hans in the picture. Which is playing the violin?

Enrichment

Activity 1: Recite the Composition Information

• Recite the name of the composer and the composition.

Activity 2: Study the Music Timeline

Examine the music timeline to answer the following questions.

• What is the year of birth of the lesson composer?
• What is the year of death of the featured composer?
• How old was the composer upon death?
• Which composer (if any) directly precedes the studied composer by date of birth?
• Which composer (if any) directly succeeds the lesson composer by date of birth?
• Which other timeline composers were alive at the same time as the studied composer?

Activity 3: Map the Music

• Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Germany.
• Find Germany on the map of Europe.

Activity 4: Study Facts About Sebastian Bach

• Full name: Johann Sebastian Bach.
• Born 1685 and died in 1750 after suffering from blindness, a failed eye surgery, and a stroke.
• As a little boy he sang in the streets, begging from door to door.
• His father and mother died when he was ten years old.
• He went to live with his brother.
• He took his first position when he was seventeen.
• He used to walk long distances to hear famous organists, one of whom was named Buxtehude.
• He could play the organ, clavichord, violin, and other stringed instruments.
• He wrote music for the voice (solo and chorus) and for many different instruments.
• Bach copied lots of music because printed music was dear in his day.
• He was Cantor of the Thomas School for many years.
• Once he visited Frederick the Great at Potsdam.
• For his little son, Friedmann, he wrote a book of Little Preludes.

Review

Question 1

What is the name of the famous castle that can be seen from the streets of Eisenach?

1 / 5

Answer 1

Wartburg castle can be seen from the streets of Eisenach.

1 / 5

Question 2

Which instruments could Johann Sebastian Bach play?

2 / 5

Answer 2

Johann Sebastian Bach could play the organ, clavichord, violin, and other stringed instruments.

2 / 5

Question 3

For what purpose did Johann Sebastian Bach travel from place to place, as a boy?

3 / 5

Answer 3

Johann Sebastian Bach used to walk long distances from place to place to hear famous organists play.

3 / 5

Question 4

What was the name of Johann Sebastian Bach's father?

4 / 5

Answer 4

Johann Sebastian Bach's father was named Johann Ambrosius Bach.

4 / 5

Question 5

Who was Hans, the Player?

5 / 5

Answer 5

Hans, the Player, was Johann Sebastian Bach's ancestor. Like Bach, Hans, the Player was a musician.

5 / 5

❮ ❯

1. What is the name of the famous castle that can be seen from the streets of Eisenach? Wartburg castle can be seen from the streets of Eisenach.
2. Which instruments could Johann Sebastian Bach play? Johann Sebastian Bach could play the organ, clavichord, violin, and other stringed instruments.
3. For what purpose did Johann Sebastian Bach travel from place to place, as a boy? Johann Sebastian Bach used to walk long distances from place to place to hear famous organists play.
4. What was the name of Johann Sebastian Bach's father? Johann Sebastian Bach's father was named Johann Ambrosius Bach.
5. Who was Hans, the Player? Hans, the Player, was Johann Sebastian Bach's ancestor. Like Bach, Hans, the Player was a musician.

References

Tapper, Thomas. Johann Sebastian Bach - The Story of the Boy Who Sang in the Streets. Philadelphia, PA. Theodore Presser Co., 1915.

'The Well-Tempered Clavier.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.