Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the greatest composers in Western musical history. More than 1,000 of his compositions survive. He came from a family of musicians. There were over 53 musicians in his family over a period of 300 years. Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany in 1685. His father was a talented violinist. When his parents died, he was only 10 years old. He went to stay with his older brother, Johann Christoph, who was a professional organist, and continued his younger brother’s musical education. After several years in this arrangement, Johann Sebastian won a scholarship to study in Luneberg, Northern Germany. A master of several instruments while still in his teens, Johann Sebastian first found employment at the age of 18 as a ‘lackey and violinist’ in a court orchestra in Weimar; and soon after he took the job of an organist at a church in Arnstadt.
He married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach and assumed the post of organist and concertmaster
His growing mastery of compositional forms, like the fugue and the canon, was already attracting interest from the musical establishment which, in his day, was the Lutheran church. But, like many people of uncommon talent, he was never very good at playing the political game, and therefore suffered periodic setbacks in his career. When his wife died, he remarried and had 11 children in both marriages. Several of these children would become fine composers. After conducting and composing for the court orchestra at Cothen for seven years, Bach was offered the highly prestigious post of cantor (music director) of St. Thomas’ Church in Leipzig. Bach remained at his post in Leipzig until his death in 1750.
He was creatively active until the very end, even after cataract problems virtually blinded him in 1740. His last musical composition, a chorale prelude entitled ‘Before Thine Throne, My God, I Stand’, was dictated to his son-in-law only days before
his death.Translate the following sentences into English.
1. Бах, один из величайших композиторов в истории музыки, мастерски играл на нескольких музыкальных инструментах, еще будучи подростком.
2. После продолжения музыкального образования Бах получил стипендию и учился в Лунеберге.
3. В возрасте 18 лет он нашел работу в придворном оркестре.
4. Он начал работать органистом и концертмейстером в капелле герцога в Веймаре, где он написал свои первые значительные произведения.
5. У Баха была репутация блестящего талантливого музыканта.
6. Его мастерская игра на органе не знала себе равных в Европе.
7. Его растущее мастерство в области композиционных форм привлекло к себе внимание музыкального истэблишмента, то есть лютеранской церкви.
1. Bach, one of the greatest composers in musical history, was a master of several musical instruments while he was still in his teens.
2. After continuing musical education, Bach won a scholarship to study in Luneberg.
3. At the age of 18 he found a employment in a court orchestra.
4. He took the job of organist and concertmaster in the ducal chapel in Weimar, where he composed his first major works.
5. Bach had a reputation of a brilliant musical talent.
6. His proficiency on the organ was unequalled in Europe.
7. His growing mastery of compositional forms attracted interest from the musical establishment, that is, the Lutheran church.
Из пособия “ЕГЭ. Английский язык. Устные темы” Занина Е. Л. (2010, 272с.) – Part two. Additional topics.
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