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.