133-396: Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia , Germany , with its capital at Rudolstadt . Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of Schwarzburg dynasty lands. Since the 11th century, the ancestral seat of the comital family had been at Schwarzburg Castle, though after 1340, for most of its existence as a polity had
266-740: A principality under the same entity. It withstood mediatisation and after the empire's dissolution joined the Confederation of the Rhine in 1807 and the German Confederation in 1815. In 1905 Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt had an area of 940 km (360 sq mi) and a population of 97,000. On 23 November 1918, during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the fall of all the German monarchies , Prince Günther Victor
399-734: A German-ethnicity sovereign state , within what today comprises Germany, occurred in 1778 as the state flag of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz , a defunct principality in the modern state's borders. Some reordering of the Thuringian states occurred during the German Mediatisation from 1795 to 1814, and the territory was included within the Napoleonic Confederation of the Rhine organized in 1806. The 1815 Congress of Vienna confirmed these changes and
532-440: A broader range of European culture. In addition to singing in the choir, he played the school's three-manual organ and harpsichords . He also came into contact with sons of aristocrats from northern Germany who had been sent to the nearby Ritter-Academie to prepare for careers in other disciplines. In January 1703, shortly after graduating from St. Michael's and being turned down for the post of organist at Sangerhausen , Bach
665-486: A cantata, BWV 191 from his 1733 Kyrie-Gloria Mass for the Dresden court in the mid-1740s, Bach expanded that setting into his Mass in B minor in the last years of his life. The complete mass was not performed during his lifetime. It is considered among the greatest choral works in history. In January 1749, Bach's daughter Elisabeth Juliane Friederica married his pupil Johann Christoph Altnickol . Bach's health
798-560: A charlatan and believed to have blinded hundreds of people. Bach died on 28 July 1750 from complications due to the unsuccessful treatment. An inventory drawn up a few months after Bach's death shows that his estate included five harpsichords , two lute-harpsichords , three violins , three violas , two cellos , a viola da gamba , a lute , a spinet , and 52 "sacred books", including works by Martin Luther and Josephus . C.P.E. Bach saw to it that The Art of Fugue , though unfinished,
931-679: A church cantata monthly in the castle church. The first three cantatas in the new series Bach composed in Weimar were Himmelskönig, sei willkommen , BWV 182 , for Palm Sunday , which coincided with the Annunciation that year; Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen , BWV 12 , for Jubilate Sunday ; and Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! BWV 172 for Pentecost . Bach's first Christmas cantata, Christen, ätzet diesen Tag , BWV 63 , premiered in 1714 or 1715. In 1717, Bach fell out of favour in Weimar and, according to
1064-495: A composition. He chose his Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her" , and a portrait painted by Elias Gottlob Haussmann that featured Bach's Canon triplex á 6 Voc . In May 1747, Bach visited the court of King Frederick II of Prussia in Potsdam . The king played a theme for Bach and challenged him to improvise a fugue based on it. Bach obliged, playing a three-part fugue on one of Frederick's fortepianos ,
1197-457: A festive cantata for the inauguration of the new council , which was published at the council's expense. Bach left Mühlhausen in 1708, returning to Weimar this time as organist and from 1714 Konzertmeister (director of music) at the ducal court, where he could work with a large, well-funded contingent of professional musicians. Bach and his wife moved into a house near the ducal palace. Later that year, their first child, Catharina Dorothea,
1330-608: A large extent he defined it. Fugues are as characteristic of Bach's style as, for instance, sonata form is of the composers of the Classical period . These strictly contrapuntal compositions, and most of Bach's music in general, are characterised by distinct melodic lines for each voice, where the chords formed by the notes sounding at a given point follow the rules of four-part harmony. Johann Nikolaus Forkel , Bach's first biographer, gives this description of this feature of Bach's music, which sets it apart from most other music: If
1463-711: A minimum voting age of 21. Between 1920 and 1932, under the Weimar Republic , six Landtag elections were held. Thuringia was one of the states where the Nazi Party first gained real political power during the Weimar Republic. Wilhelm Frick was appointed Minister of the Interior in the state coalition government after the Nazi Party won six deputies to the Thuringian Landtag in
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#17327945453301596-608: A much better and newer (1716) organ than the St. Thomas Church or the St. Nicholas Church. Bach was not required to play any organ in his official duties, but it is believed he liked to play on the St. Paul's Church organ for his own pleasure. Bach broadened his composing and performing beyond the liturgy by taking over, in March 1729, the directorship of the Collegium Musicum , a secular performance ensemble Telemann started. This
1729-501: A musician, Leopold appreciated Bach's talents, paid him well, and gave him considerable latitude in composing and performing. Leopold was a Calvinist and did not use elaborate music in his worship; accordingly, most of Bach's work from this period is secular, including the orchestral suites , cello suites , sonatas and partitas for solo violin , and the Brandenburg Concertos . Bach also composed secular cantatas for
1862-479: A new type of instrument at the time. Upon his return to Leipzig he composed a set of fugues and canons and a trio sonata based on the Thema Regium ("king's theme"). Within a few weeks this music was published as The Musical Offering and dedicated to Frederick. The Schübler Chorales , a set of six chorale preludes transcribed from cantata movements Bach had written two decades earlier, were published within
1995-704: A prelude and fugue in every major and minor key, displaying a dizzying variety of structural, contrapuntal and fugal techniques. Four-part harmony predates Bach, but he lived during a time when modal music in Western tradition was largely supplanted by the tonal system . In this system a piece of music progresses from one chord to the next according to certain rules, with each chord characterised by four notes. The principles of four-part harmony are found not only in Bach's four-part choral music; he also prescribes it for instance in figured bass accompaniment. The new system
2128-699: A prolonged absence from Arnstadt: after obtaining leave for four weeks, he was absent for around four months in 1705–1706 to take lessons from the organist and composer Johann Adam Reincken and to hear him and Dieterich Buxtehude play in the northern city of Lübeck . The visit to Buxtehude and Reincken involved a 450-kilometre (280 mi) journey each way, reportedly on foot. Buxtehude probably introduced Bach to his friend Reincken so that he could learn from his compositional technique (especially his mastery of fugue ), his organ playing and his skills with improvisation. Bach knew Reincken's music very well; he copied Reincken's monumental An Wasserflüssen Babylon when he
2261-523: A soloist) with the orchestra in instrumental cantata movements, a decade before Handel published his first organ concertos. Apart from the 5th Brandenburg Concerto and the Triple Concerto , which already had harpsichord soloists in the 1720s, Bach wrote and arranged his harpsichord concertos in the 1730s, and in his sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord neither instrument plays a continuo part: they are treated as equal soloists, far beyond
2394-447: A strong tendency from rural areas towards the big cities. From 2008 to 2012, there was a net migration from Thuringia to Erfurt of +6,700 persons (33 per 1000 inhabitants), +1,800 to Gera (19 per 1000), +1,400 to Jena (14 per 1000), +1,400 to Eisenach (33 per 1000) and +1,300 to Weimar (21 per 1000). Between Thuringia and the other German states, the balance is negative: In 2012, Thuringia lost 6,500 persons to other federal states,
2527-548: A sustained period of composing keyboard and orchestral works. He attained the proficiency and confidence to extend the prevailing structures and include influences from abroad. He learned to write dramatic openings and employ the dynamic rhythms and harmonic schemes found in the music of Italians such as Vivaldi , Corelli , and Torelli . Bach absorbed these stylistic aspects to a certain extent by transcribing Vivaldi's string and wind concertos for harpsichord and organ; many of these transcribed works are still regularly performed. Bach
2660-573: A translation of the court secretary's report, was jailed for almost a month before being unfavorably dismissed: "On November 6, [1717,] the quondam [former] concertmaster and organist Bach was confined to the County Judge's place of detention for too stubbornly forcing the issue of his dismissal and finally on December 2 was freed from arrest with notice of his unfavorable discharge." Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen , hired Bach to serve as his Kapellmeister (director of music) in 1717. Himself
2793-418: A year. Around the same time, the set of five canonic variations Bach had submitted when entering Mizler's society in 1747 were also printed. Two large-scale compositions occupied a central place in Bach's last years. Beginning around 1742, he wrote and revised the various canons and fugues of The Art of Fugue , which he continued to prepare for publication until shortly before his death. After extracting
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#17327945453302926-477: Is Galicia today. Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus first mentioned the Thuringii around 400; during that period, the Thuringii were famous for their excellent horses. The Thuringian Realm existed until after 531. The Landgraviate of Thuringia was the largest state in the region, persisting between 1131 and 1247. Afterwards the state known as Thuringia ceased to exist; nevertheless the term commonly described
3059-504: Is temperate with humid westerly winds predominating. Increasingly as one moves from the north-west to the south-east, the climate shows continental features: winters can be cold for long periods, and summers can become warm. Dry periods are often recorded, especially within the Thuringian Basin, leeward to mountains in all directions. It is Germany's driest area, with annual precipitation of only 400 to 500 mm. Artern , in
3192-461: Is a very different thing when two melodies are so interwoven that they converse together like two persons upon a footing of pleasant equality. In the first case, the accompaniment is subordinate and serves merely to support the first or principal part. In the second case, the two parts are not similarly related. New melodic combinations spring from their interweaving, out of which new forms of musical expression emerge. Suppose more parts are interwoven in
3325-469: Is about 1.78% less. The current population is 2,120,237 (31 December 2020) with an annual rate of decrease of about 0.5%, which varies widely between the local regions. In 2012, 905,000 Thuringians lived in a municipality with more than 20,000 inhabitants, this is an urbanization rate of 42% which continues to rise. In July 2013, there were 41,000 non-Germans by citizenship living in Thuringia (1.9% of
3458-551: Is forest with beech as its predominant species, as can still be found in the Hainich mountains today. In the uplands, a mixture of beech and spruce would be natural. However, most of the plains have been cleared and are in intensive agricultural use while most of the forests are planted with spruce and pine . Since 1990, Thuringia's forests have been managed aiming for a more natural and tough vegetation more resilient to climate change as well as diseases and vermin. In comparison to
3591-595: Is harmonically more innovative than his peers', employing surprisingly dissonant chords and progressions, often extensively exploring harmonic possibilities within one piece. Bach's hundreds of sacred works are usually seen as manifesting not just his craft but also a deep faith in God. He had taught Luther's Small Catechism as the Thomaskantor in Leipzig, and some of his pieces represent it. The Lutheran chorale
3724-470: Is now Thuringia were the Sorbs proper , who unified all tribes in what is now southern half of Eastern Germany. The Ostsiedlung movement led to the assimilation of Slavic people between the 11th and the 13th century under German rule. The population growth increased during the 18th century and stayed high until World War I , before it slowed within the 20th century and changed to a decline since 1990. Since
3857-459: Is still played. Although Bach wrote no operas, he was not averse to the genre or its ornamented vocal style. In church music, Italian composers had imitated the operatic vocal style in genres such as the Neapolitan mass . In Protestant surroundings, there was more reluctance to adopt such a style for liturgical music. Kuhnau had notoriously shunned opera and Italian virtuoso vocal music. Bach
3990-451: Is the capital and largest city. Other cities include Jena , Gera and Weimar . Thuringia is bordered by Bavaria , Hesse , Lower Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt , and Saxony . It has been known as "the green heart of Germany" ( das grüne Herz Deutschlands ) from the late 19th century due to its broad, dense forest. Most of Thuringia is in the Saale drainage basin , a left-bank tributary of
4123-518: Is the interweaving of several melodies, which emerge now in the upper, now in the middle, and now in the lower parts. From 1720, when he was thirty-five until he died in 1750, Bach's harmony consists of this melodic interweaving of independent melodies, so perfect in their union that each part seems to constitute the true melody. Herein, Bach excels all the composers in the world. At least, I have found no one to equal him in music known to me. Even in his four-part writing, we can, not infrequently, leave out
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4256-547: The Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV, a numbered catalogue of his works) and new critical editions of his compositions. His music was further popularised through a multitude of arrangements , including the Air on the G String and " Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring ", and of recordings, such as three different box sets with complete performances of his oeuvre marking the 250th anniversary of his death. Johann Sebastian Bach
4389-718: The Bratwurst and the Forest , because a large amount of the territory is forested. Named after the Thuringii Germanic tribe who occupied it around AD 300, Thuringia came under Frankish domination in the 6th century. Thuringia became a landgraviate in 1130 AD. After the extinction of the reigning Ludowingian line of counts and landgraves in 1247 and the War of the Thuringian Succession (1247–1264),
4522-579: The Little Organ Book , containing traditional Lutheran chorale tunes set in complex textures. In 1713, Bach was offered a post in Halle when he advised the authorities during a renovation by Christoph Cuntzius of the main organ in the west gallery of the Market Church of Our Dear Lady . In the spring of 1714, Bach was promoted to Konzertmeister , an honour that entailed performing
4655-805: The Schubler Chorales and the Toccata and Fugue in D minor ; and choral works such as the St ;Matthew Passion and the Mass in B ;minor . Since the 19th century Bach Revival , he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music. The Bach family already counted several composers when Johann Sebastian was born as the last child of a city musician, Johann Ambrosius , in Eisenach . After being orphaned at
4788-567: The organ , and an older second cousin, Johann Ludwig Bach , was a well-known composer and violinist. Bach's mother died in 1694, and his father died eight months later. The 10-year-old Bach moved in with his eldest brother, Johann Christoph Bach , the organist at St. Michael's Church in Ohrdruf , Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg . There he studied, performed, and copied music, including his brother's, despite being forbidden to do so because scores were so valuable and private and blank ledger paper
4921-540: The Brandenburg Concertos and orchestral suites, many of Bach's newly composed or reworked pieces were performed for these venues, including parts of his Clavier-Übung ( Keyboard Practice ), his violin and keyboard concertos , and the Coffee Cantata . In 1733, Bach composed a Kyrie–Gloria Mass in B minor that he later incorporated in his Mass in B minor. He presented the manuscript to
5054-523: The Collegium Musicum gave two-hour performances, in winter at the Café Zimmermann , a coffeehouse on Catherine Street off the main market square, and in summer in the proprietor's outdoor coffee garden just outside the town walls, near the East Gate. The concerts, all free of charge, ended with Gottfried Zimmermann's death in 1741. Apart from showcasing his earlier orchestral repertoire, such as
5187-581: The Elbe . Thuringia is home to the Rennsteig , Germany's best-known hiking trail . Its winter resort of Oberhof makes it a well-equipped winter sports destination – half of Germany's 136 Winter Olympic gold medals had been won by Thuringian athletes as of 2014. Thuringia was favoured by or was the birthplace of three key intellectuals and leaders in the arts: Johann Sebastian Bach , Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , and Friedrich Schiller . The state has
5320-566: The Evangelical Church in Central Germany or to the Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck ( Schmalkalden region). Catholic dioceses are Erfurt (most of Thuringia), Dresden-Meissen (eastern parts) and Fulda (Rhön around Geisa in the very west). Thuringia is a stronghold for the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the party emerged as the largest in Thuringia in the 2021 national elections . In 2017
5453-851: The German Peasants' War of 1525. In Mühlhausen and elsewhere, the Anabaptists found many adherents. Thomas Müntzer , a leader of some non-peaceful groups of this sect, was active in this city. Within the borders of modern Thuringia the Roman Catholic faith only survived in the Eichsfeld district, which was ruled by the Archbishop of Mainz , and to a small degree in Erfurt and its immediate vicinity. The modern German black-red-gold tricolour flag's first appearance anywhere in
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5586-640: The Goldene Aue , a fertile floodplain around Nordhausen with the Helme as most important river. The north-west includes the Eichsfeld , a hilly and sometimes forested region, where the Leine river emanates. The central and northern part of Thuringia is defined by the 3,000 km (1,200 sq mi) wide Thuringian Basin , a very fertile and flat area around the Unstrut river and completely surrounded by
5719-637: The Goldisthal Pumped Storage Station in the Thuringian Highlands. Thuringia is Germany's only state with no connection to navigable waterways. The geographic centre of the Federal Republic is in Thuringia, within the municipality of Vogtei next to Mühlhausen . The centre of Thuringia is eight kilometres south of the capital's Cathedral , in the municipality of Rockhausen . Thuringia's climate
5852-599: The Passion with Bible text reflected in recitatives, arias, choruses, and chorales, but in crafting this work, Bach created an overall experience that has been found over the intervening centuries to be both musically thrilling and spiritually profound. Bach published or carefully compiled in manuscript many collections of pieces that explored the range of artistic and technical possibilities inherent in almost every genre of his time except opera . For example, The Well-Tempered Clavier comprises two books, each of which presents
5985-764: The Rhön Mountains around Geisa in the southwest. Protestant church membership is shrinking rapidly, whereas the Catholic Church is somewhat more stable because of Catholic migration from Poland, Southern Europe and West Germany. Other religions play no significant role in Thuringia. There are only a few thousand Muslims (largely migrants) and about 750 Jews (mostly migrants from Russia) living in Thuringia. Furthermore, there are some Orthodox communities of Eastern European migrants and some traditional Protestant Free churches in Thuringia without any societal influence. The Protestant parishes of Thuringia belong to
6118-673: The Soviet occupation zone in Allied-occupied Germany , and its borders were reformed, to become contiguous . Thuringia became part of the German Democratic Republic in 1949, but was dissolved in 1952 during administrative reforms , and divided into the Districts of Erfurt , Suhl and Gera . Thuringia was re-established in 1990 following German reunification , slightly re-drawn, and became one of
6251-583: The St Matthew and St John Passions and the Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes , their final revisions. He also programmed and adapted music by composers of a younger generation, including Pergolesi ( BWV 1083 ), and his own students, such as Goldberg ( BNB I/G/2 ). In 1746 Bach was preparing to enter Lorenz Christoph Mizler 's Society of Musical Sciences [ de ] . To be admitted, he had to submit
6384-651: The University of Jena , the Ilmenau University of Technology , the University of Erfurt , and the Bauhaus University of Weimar . The Frankish Duchy of Thuringia was established around 631 AD by King Dagobert I . The modern state was established in 1920 by the Weimar Republic through a merger of the Ernestine duchies , save for Saxe-Coburg . After World War II , Thuringia came under
6517-544: The Vogtland , a hilly but in most parts non-forested region in the south. The far eastern region (east of White Elster) is the Osterland or Altenburger Land along Pleiße river, a flat, fertile and densely settled agricultural area. There are two large rivers in Thuringia. The Saale , a tributary of the Elbe , with its tributaries the Unstrut , Ilm and White Elster, drains the most part of Thuringia. The Werra –
6650-595: The electoral threshold of 5%. The other two parties of the traffic light coalition in Berlin, Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), did not pass the threshold and lost all of their seats, which contributed to the break-up of that coalition on November 6th. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) recorded small gains and came second with 24%. The newly-founded Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance BSW debuted in third place at 16%. The AfD in Thuringia became
6783-436: The liturgical year . Bach usually led performances of his cantatas , most composed within three years of his relocation to Leipzig. He assumed the office of Thomaskantor on 30 May 1723, presenting the first new cantata, Die Elenden sollen essen , BWV 75 , in the St. Nicholas Church on the first Sunday after Trinity . Bach collected his cantatas in annual cycles. Five are mentioned in obituaries, and three are extant. Of
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#17327945453306916-815: The new states of the Federal Republic of Germany. The name Thuringia or Thüringen derives from the Germanic tribe Thuringii , who emerged during the Migration Period . Their origin is largely unknown. An older theory claims that they were successors of the Hermunduri , but later research rejected the idea. Other historians argue that the Thuringians were allies of the Huns , came to central Europe together with them, and lived before in what
7049-452: The " Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich " of 30 January 1934, which replaced the German federal system with a unitary state . Thuringia was the location of the Buchenwald concentration camp with multiple subcamps. After being controlled briefly by the US following the end of the Second World War , from July 1945 the state of Thuringia came under the Soviet occupation zone and was expanded to include parts of Prussian Saxony, such as
7182-477: The 18th century, Bach was primarily valued as an organist , while his keyboard music, such as The Well-Tempered Clavier , was appreciated for its didactic qualities. The 19th century saw the publication of some significant Bach biographies , and by the end of that century, all of his known music had been printed. Dissemination of scholarship on the composer continued through periodicals (and later also websites) exclusively devoted to him and other publications such as
7315-429: The 2011 Census results. Since the Protestant Reformation , the most prominent Christian denomination in Thuringia has been Lutheranism . During the GDR period, church membership was discouraged and has continued shrinking since the reunification in 1990. Today over two thirds of the population is non-religious. The Protestant Church in Germany has had the largest number of members in the state, adhered to by 20.8% of
7448-673: The Bach family in Leipzig, but the visit did not take place. On 7 July 1720, while Bach was away in Carlsbad with Leopold, his wife, Maria Barbara Bach , suddenly died. The next year, he met Anna Magdalena Wilcke , a young, gifted soprano 16 years his junior, who performed at the court in Köthen; they married on 3 December 1721. Together they had 13 children, six of whom survived into adulthood: Gottfried Heinrich ; Elisabeth Juliane Friederica (1726–1781); Johann Christoph Friedrich and Johann Christian , who both, especially Johann Christian, became significant musicians; Johanna Carolina (1737–1781); and Regina Susanna (1742–1809). In 1723, Bach
7581-405: The December 1929 election. In this position, he removed from the Thuringian police force anyone he suspected of being a republican and replaced them with men who were favourable towards the Nazis. He also ensured that, whenever an important position came up within Thuringia, a Nazi was given that post. Following the Nazi seizure of power in Berlin, the Landtag was formally abolished as a result of
7714-483: The Elector in a successful bid to persuade the prince to give him the title of Court Composer. He later extended this work into a full mass by adding a Credo , Sanctus , and Agnus Dei , the music for which was partly based on his own cantatas and partly original. Bach's appointment as Court Composer was an element of his long-term struggle to achieve greater bargaining power with the Leipzig council. Between 1737 and 1739, Bach's former pupil Carl Gotthelf Gerlach held
7847-402: The Italian Girolamo Frescobaldi . He learned theology , Latin and Greek at the local gymnasium . By 3 April 1700, Bach and his school friend Georg Erdmann—who was two years older than Bach—studied at St. Michael 's School in Lüneburg , some two weeks' travel north of Ohrdruf. Their journey was probably undertaken mostly on foot. His two years there were critical in exposing Bach to
7980-451: The Leipzig offer to negotiate better terms of employment. Bach was required to instruct the Thomasschule students in singing and provide church music for the main churches in Leipzig. He was also assigned to teach Latin but was allowed to employ four "prefects" (deputies) to do this instead. The prefects also aided with musical instruction. A cantata was required for the church services on Sundays and additional church holidays during
8113-525: The St. Paul's Church, the church of Leipzig University . But when Bach was installed as cantor in 1723, he was put in charge only of music for festal (church holiday) services at St. Paul's Church; his petition to also provide music for regular Sunday services there (for a corresponding salary increase) went all the way to the Elector but was denied. In 1725, Bach "lost interest" in working even for festal services at St. Paul's Church and decided to appear there only on "special occasions". The St. Paul's Church had
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#17327945453308246-446: The Thuringian states' inclusion in the German Confederation ; the Kingdom of Prussia also acquired some Thuringian territory and administered it within the Province of Saxony . The Thuringian duchies which became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany were Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach , Saxe-Meiningen , Saxe-Altenburg , Saxe-Coburg-Gotha , Schwarzburg-Sondershausen , Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and
8379-425: The age of 10, he lived for five years with his eldest brother, Johann Christoph , after which he continued his musical education in Lüneburg . In 1703 he returned to Thuringia , working as a musician for Protestant churches in Arnstadt and Mühlhausen and, for longer periods, at courts in Weimar , where he expanded his organ repertory, and Köthen , where he was mostly engaged with chamber music . In 1723, he
8512-410: The area east of Saale and Loquitz valley, is marked by a hilly landscape, rising slowly from the flat north to the mountainous south. The Saale in the west and the White Elster in the east are the two big rivers running from south to north and forming densely settled valleys in this area. Between them lies the flat and forested Holzland in the north, the flat and fertile Orlasenke in the middle and
8645-549: The area into a number of smaller states, according to the Saxon tradition of dividing inheritance amongst male heirs. These were the " Saxon duchies ", consisting, among others, of the states of Saxe-Weimar , Saxe-Eisenach , Saxe-Jena , Saxe-Meiningen , Saxe-Altenburg , Saxe-Coburg , and Saxe-Gotha . Thuringia generally accepted the Protestant Reformation , and Roman Catholicism was suppressed as early as 1520; priests who remained loyal to it were driven away and churches and monasteries were largely destroyed, especially during
8778-403: The areas around Erfurt , Mühlhausen , and Nordhausen . Erfurt became the new capital of Thuringia. Ostheim , an exclave of Landkreis Eisenach, was ceded to Bavaria. In 1952, the German Democratic Republic dissolved its states, and created districts ( Bezirke ) instead. The three districts that shared the former territory of Thuringia were Erfurt, Gera and Suhl . Altenburg Kreis
8911-415: The balance was negative with Switzerland (−2,800) and Austria (−900). Of the approximately 850 municipalities of Thuringia, 126 are classed as towns (within a district) or cities (forming their own urban district). Most of the towns are small with a population of less than 10,000; only the ten biggest ones have a population greater than 30,000. The first towns emerged during the 12th century, whereas
9044-408: The beginning of Urbanisation around 1840, the Thuringian cities have higher growth rates resp. smaller rates of decline than rural areas (many villages lost half of their population since 1950, whereas the biggest cities ( Erfurt and Jena ) kept growing). The 1981 census projected that Thuringia's population would reach 2,221,222 by 2011. The population counted in the 2011 census was 2,181,603, which
9177-415: The birth ratio. Furthermore, the population is getting older and older with some rural municipalities recording more than 30% of over-65s (pensioners). This is a problem for the regional labour market, as there are twice as many people leaving as entering the job market annually. The birth rate was about 1.8 children per women in the 1970s and 1980s, shrinking to 0.8 in 1994 during the economic crisis after
9310-431: The canons BWV 1072–1078 are in that category, as is the bulk of the Musical Offering and the Art of Fugue . Another characteristic of Bach's style is his extensive use of counterpoint , as opposed to the homophony used in his four-part chorale settings, for example. Bach's canons, and especially his fugues, are the most characteristic of this style, which he did not invent but contributed to so fundamentally that to
9443-458: The capital at the larger town of Rudolstadt. In 1583 Count Günther XLI of Schwarzburg, the eldest son of Günther XL the Rich and ruler over the united Schwarzburg lands, had died without issue. He was succeeded by his younger brothers, whereby Albert VII received the territory around Rudolstadt. After their brother William I, Count of Schwarzburg-Frankenhausen had died in 1597, the surviving brothers Albert VII and John Günther I established
9576-426: The college towns Erfurt , Jena , Weimar and Ilmenau have the highest rates, whereas there are almost no migrants living in the most rural smaller municipalities. The Thuringian population has a significant sex ratio gap, caused by the emigration of young women, especially in rural areas. Overall, there are 115 to 120 men per 100 women in the 25–40 age group ("family founders") which has negative consequences for
9709-419: The course of a piece, is another style characteristic where Bach goes beyond the norm in his time. Baroque instruments vastly limited modulation possibilities: keyboard instruments, before a workable system of temperament , limited the keys that could be modulated to, and wind instruments, especially brass instruments such as trumpets and horns , about a century before they were fitted with valves, were tied to
9842-425: The court, such as Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht , BWV 134a . Despite being born in the same year and only about 130 kilometres (80 mi) apart, Bach and Handel never met. In 1719, Bach made the 35-kilometre (22 mi) journey from Köthen to Halle with the intention to meet Handel, but Handel had left town. In 1730, Bach's oldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, travelled to Halle to invite Handel to visit
9975-542: The courts of Köthen and Weissenfels, as well as that of the Elector Frederick Augustus (who was also King of Poland ) in Dresden . Bach frequently disagreed with his employer, Leipzig's city council, which he regarded as "penny-pinching". Johann Kuhnau had been Thomaskantor in Leipzig from 1701 until his death on 5 June 1722. Bach had visited Leipzig during Kuhnau's tenure: in 1714, he attended
10108-849: The directorship of the Collegium Musicum. In 1735, Bach started preparing his first organ music publication, which was printed as the third Clavier-Übung in 1739. From around that year he started to compile and compose the set of preludes and fugues for harpsichord that became the second book of The Well-Tempered Clavier . He received the title of "Royal Court Composer" from Augustus III in 1736. From 1740 to 1748 Bach copied, transcribed, expanded or programmed music in an older polyphonic style ( stile antico ) by, among others, Palestrina ( BNB I/P/2 ), Kerll ( BWV 241 ), Torri ( BWV Anh. 30 ), Bassani ( BWV 1081 ), Gasparini ( Missa Canonica ), and Caldara ( BWV 1082 ). Bach's style shifted in
10241-573: The economy has seen an upturn and the general economic situation has improved. Agriculture and forestry have declined in importance over the decades. Nevertheless, they are more important than in most other areas of Germany, especially within rural regions. 54% of Thuringia's territory is in agricultural use. The fertile basins such as the large Thuringian Basin or the smaller Goldene Aue , Orlasenke and Osterland are in intensive use for growing cereals, vegetables, fruits and energy crops. Important products are apples, strawberries, cherries and plums in
10374-418: The figured bass. In this way, Bach played a key role in the development of genres such as the keyboard concerto. Bach wrote virtuoso music for specific instruments as well as music independent of instrumentation. For instance, the sonatas and partitas for solo violin are considered the pinnacle of what has been written for violin, within reach of only accomplished players. The music fits the instrument, using
10507-580: The first far-right party in Germany since World War II to win a state election. Thuringia is divided into 17 districts ( Landkreise ): Furthermore, there are five urban districts: Thuringia's economy is marked by the economic transition that happened after the German reunification and led to the closure of most of the factories within the Land. The unemployment rate reached a peak in 2005. Since that year,
10640-525: The following hill chains (clockwise from the north-west): Dün , Hainleite , Windleite , Kyffhäuser , Hohe Schrecke , Schmücke , Finne , Ettersberg , Steigerwald , Thuringian Forest , Hörselberge and Hainich . Within the Basin the smaller hill chains Fahner Höhe and Heilinger Höhen . South of the Thuringian Basin is the state's largest mountain range, marked by the Thuringian Forest in
10773-440: The forest, agriculture is still quite conventional and dominated by large structures and monocultures. Problems here are caused especially by increasingly prolonged dry periods during the summer months. Environmental damage in Thuringia has been reduced to a large extent after 1990. The condition of forests, rivers and air was improved by modernizing factories, houses (decline of coal heating) and cars, and contaminated areas such as
10906-751: The forested mountains, are protected as natural reserves, including Thuringia's first national park within the Hainich mountains, founded in 1997, the Rhön Biosphere Reserve , the Thuringian Forest Nature Park and the South Harz Nature Park . During the Middle Ages, Thuringia was at the border between Germanic and Slavic territories, marked by the Saale river. The main Slavic tribe in what
11039-461: The former Uranium surface mines around Ronneburg have been remediated. Today's environmental problems are the salination of the Werra river, caused by discharges of K+S salt mines around Unterbreizbach and overfertilisation in agriculture, damaging the soil and small rivers. Environment and nature protection has been of growing importance and attention since 1990. Large areas, especially within
11172-622: The fruit sector, cabbage, potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes (grown in greenhouses), onions, cucumbers and asparagus in the vegetable sector, as well as maize, rapeseed, wheat, barley and sugar beets in the crop sector. Meat production and processing is also an important activity, with swine, cattle, chickens and turkeys in focus. Furthermore, there are many milk and cheese producers, as well as laying hens. Trout and carp are traditionally bred in aquaculture in many villages. Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [ O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750)
11305-609: The full expansion came with the Well-Tempered Clavier , using all keys, which Bach apparently had been developing since around 1720, the Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach being one of its earliest examples. The second page of the Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach is an ornament notation and performance guide that Bach wrote for his eldest son when he was nine years old. Bach
11438-484: The full gamut of its possibilities and requiring virtuosity but without bravura . Notwithstanding that the music and the instrument seem inseparable, Bach transcribed some pieces in this collection for other instruments. Similarly, the virtuoso cello suites seem tailored to the instrument, the best of what is offered for it, but Bach arranged one of the suites for lute. The same applies to much of his most virtuoso keyboard music. Bach exploited an instrument's capacities to
11571-415: The fullest while keeping the core of the music independent of the instrument on which it is performed. In this sense, it is no surprise that Bach's music is easily and often performed on instruments it was not written for, that it is transcribed so often, and that his melodies turn up in unexpected places, such as jazz music. Apart from this, Bach left several compositions without specified instrumentation:
11704-442: The genres associated with it: more than his contemporaries (who had "moved on" to the tonal system without much exception), Bach often returned to the then-antiquated modes and genres. His Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue , emulating the chromatic fantasia genre used by earlier composers such as Dowland and Sweelinck in D dorian mode (comparable to D minor in the tonal system), is an example. Modulation , or changing key in
11837-816: The headwater of the Weser – drains the south-west and west of the state. Furthermore, some small areas on the southern border are drained by tributaries of the Main , itself a tributary of the Rhine . There are no large natural lakes in Thuringia, but it does have some of Germany's biggest dams, including the Bleiloch Dam and the Hohenwarte Dam on the River Saale, as well as the Leibis-Lichte Dam and
11970-462: The key of their tuning. Bach pushed the limits: he added "strange tones" in his organ playing, confusing the singers, according to an indictment he had to face in Arnstadt, and Louis Marchand , another early experimenter with modulation, seems to have avoided confrontation with Bach because the latter went further than anyone had done before. In the "Suscepit Israel" of his 1723 Magnificat , he had
12103-459: The language of music is merely the utterance of a melodic line, a simple sequence of musical notes, it can justly be accused of poverty. The addition of a Bass puts it upon a harmonic foundation and clarifies it but defines rather than gives it added richness. A melody so accompanied—even though all the notes are not those of the true Bass—or treated with simple embellishments in the upper parts or with simple chords used to be called "homophony". But it
12236-619: The largest party with 33% of the vote (and 36% of the seats), its best ever performance and the first time it placed first in a state election in Germany. The incumbent governing coalition suffered dramatic losses; the Left had split up, with new Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) becoming the more popular part, while the remaining Left lost more than half of its support and fell to fourth place on 13%. The 130+ year old SPD, which since late 2021 rules Germany under Chancellor Olaf Scholz, recorded its worst result in any postwar state election, barely passing
12369-557: The last decade of his life, showing an increased integration of polyphonic structures and canons and other elements of the stile antico . His fourth and last Clavier-Übung volume, the Goldberg Variations for two-manual harpsichord, contained nine canons and was published in 1741. During this period, Bach also continued to adapt music of contemporaries such as Handel ( BNB I/K/2 ) and Stölzel ( BWV 200 ), and gave many of his own earlier compositions, such as
12502-417: The latest ones received town status only in the 20th century. Today, all municipalities within districts are equal in law, whether they are towns or villages. Independent cities (i.e. urban districts) have greater powers (the same as any district) than towns within a district. * Average annual change in percent within the last three years (13 December 2009 to 31 December 2012), adjusted from incorporations and
12635-578: The lion of the Ludowingian Landgraves of 12th-century origin. The eight stars around it represent the eight former states which formed Thuringia. The flag of Thuringia is a white-red bicolor, derived from the white and red stripes of the Ludowingian lion. The coat of arms and flag of Hesse are quite similar to the Thuringian ones, since they are also derived from the Ludowingian symbols. Symbols of Thuringia in popular culture are
12768-744: The more than 300 cantatas he composed in Leipzig, over 100 have been lost to posterity. Most of these works expound on the Gospel readings prescribed for every Sunday and feast day in the Lutheran year. Bach started a second annual cycle on the first Sunday after the Trinity of 1724 and composed only chorale cantatas , each based on a single church hymn. These include O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort , BWV 20 , Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme , BWV 140 , Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland , BWV 62 , and Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern , BWV 1 . Bach drew
12901-460: The most to Bavaria , Saxony , Hesse and Berlin . Only with Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg the balance is positive. The international migration is fluctuating heavily. In 2009, the balance was +700, in 2010 +1,800, in 2011 +2,700 and in 2012 +4,800. The most important countries of origin of the Thuringia migrants from 2008 to 2012 were Poland (+1,700), Romania (+1,200), Afghanistan (+1,100) and Serbia / Montenegro / Kosovo (+1,000), whereas
13034-493: The north-east, is warm and dry, with a mean annual temperature of 8.5 °C and mean precipitation of 450 mm; contrast this with wet, cool Oberhof , in the Thuringian Forest, where temperature averages only 4.4 °C and mean annual precipitation reaches 1300 mm. Due to many centuries of intensive settlement, most of the area is shaped by human influence. The original natural vegetation of Thuringia
13167-709: The north-west, the Thuringian Highland in the middle and the Franconian Forest in the south-east. Most of this range is forested and the Großer Beerberg (983 m) is Thuringia's highest mountain. To the south-west, the Forest is followed up by Werra river valley, dividing it from the Rhön Mountains in the west and the Grabfeld plain in the south. Eastern Thuringia, commonly described as
13300-458: The organist at the New Church, with light duties, a relatively generous salary, and a new organ tuned in a temperament that allowed music written in a wider range of keys to be played. Despite strong family connections and a musically enthusiastic employer, tension built up between Bach and the authorities after several years in the post. Bach felt discontented by the calibre of musicians he
13433-463: The party got 22.7%, while in 2021 they got 24.0%. Thuringia is notable for being the first and only state in Germany where the communist party that ruled former East Germany until 1989, The Left (Die Linke), and the new Alternative for Germany (AfD) have seen their first-ever first place finish in a state election. Die Linke in 2019 , and the AfD in 2024 . The Alternative for Germany (AfD) became
13566-514: The population in 2018. Members of the Catholic Church formed 7.6% of the population, while 71.6% of Thuringians were non-religious or adhere to other faiths. The highest Protestant concentrations are in the small villages of southern and western Thuringia, whereas the bigger cities are even more non-religious (up to 88% in Gera ). Catholic regions are Eichsfeld in the northwest and parts of
13699-569: The population − among the smallest proportions of any state in Germany). Nevertheless, the number rose from 33,000 in July 2011, an increase of 24% in only two years. About 4% of the population are migrants (including persons that already received German citizenship). The biggest groups of foreigners by citizenship are (as of 2012): Russians (3,100), Poles (3,000), Turks (2,100) and Ukrainians (2,000). The number of foreigners varies between regions:
13832-805: The region between the Harz mountains in the north, the White Elster river in the east, the Franconian Forest in the south and the Werra river in the west. After the Treaty of Leipzig , Thuringia had its own dynasty again, the Ernestine Wettins . Their various lands formed the Free State of Thuringia, founded in 1920, together with some other small principalities. The Prussian territories around Erfurt , Mühlhausen and Nordhausen joined Thuringia in 1945. The coat of arms of Thuringia shows
13965-477: The reunification and rose again to more than 1.4 children in 2010, which is a higher level than in West Germany. Nevertheless, there are only 17,000 births compared to 27,000 deaths per year, so that the annual natural change of the Thuringian population is about −0.45%. In 2015 there were 17,934 births, the highest number since 1990. Migration plays an important role in Thuringia. The internal migration shows
14098-441: The same free and independent manner. In that case, the apparatus of language is correspondingly enlarged and becomes practically inexhaustible if, in addition, varieties of form and rhythm are introduced. Hence, harmony becomes no longer a mere accompaniment of melody but rather a potent agency for augmenting the richness and expressiveness of musical conversation. To serve that end, a simple accompaniment will not suffice. True harmony
14231-674: The service at the St. Thomas Church on the first Sunday of Advent, and in 1717 he had tested the organ of the St. Paul's Church . In 1716, Bach and Kuhnau met on the occasion of the testing and inauguration of an organ in Halle. The position was offered to Bach only after it had been offered to Georg Philipp Telemann and then to Christoph Graupner , both of whom chose to stay where they were—Telemann in Hamburg and Graupner in Darmstadt—after using
14364-477: The soprano and alto choristers from the school and the tenors and basses from the school and elsewhere in Leipzig. Performing at weddings and funerals provided extra income for these groups; probably for this purpose, and for in-school training, he wrote at least six motets . As part of his regular church work, he performed other composers' motets, which served as formal models for his own. Bach's predecessor as cantor, Johann Kuhnau, had also been music director for
14497-1014: The title of court composer in 1736. In the last decades of his life, Bach reworked and extended many of his earlier compositions. He died of complications after a botched eye surgery in 1750 at the age of 65. Bach enriched established German styles through his mastery of counterpoint , harmonic and motivic organisation, and his adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly Italy and France. His compositions include hundreds of cantatas , both sacred and secular . He composed Latin church music , Passions , oratorios , and motets . He often adopted Lutheran hymns , not only in his larger vocal works but, for instance, also in his four-part chorales and his sacred songs . Bach wrote extensively for organ and for other keyboard instruments . He composed concertos , for instance for violin and for harpsichord , and suites , as chamber music as well as for orchestra . Many of his works employ contrapuntal techniques like canon and fugue . In
14630-513: The trumpets in E-flat play a melody in the enharmonic scale of C minor. The major development in Bach's time to which he contributed in no small way was a temperament for keyboard instruments that allowed their use in every key (12 major and 12 minor) and also modulation without retuning. His Capriccio on the departure of a beloved brother , a very early work, showed a gusto for modulation unlike any contemporary work it has been compared to, but
14763-486: The two counties of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen by the 1599 Treaty of Stadtilm . Albert's descendants ruled as sovereign counts of the Holy Roman Empire . Count Albert Anton (1662–1710) was elevated to the rank of a prince by Emperor Leopold I ; it was however his son Louis Frederick I (1710–1718) who first bore the princely title, whereby Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in 1711 became
14896-596: The two principalities of Reuss Elder Line and Reuss Younger Line . In 1920, after World War I , these small states merged into one state, called the Free State of Thuringia ( Freistaat Thüringen ); only Saxe-Coburg voted to join Bavaria instead. Weimar became the new capital. The coat of arms of this new state was simpler than those of its predecessors. The Landtag of the newly established state first convened in 1920 in Weimar. Its deputies were elected for three years according to proportional representation , with
15029-481: The western half became independent under the name of " Hesse ", never to become a part of Thuringia again. Most of the remaining Thuringia came under the rule of the Wettin dynasty of the nearby Margraviate of Meissen , the nucleus of the later Electorate and Kingdom of Saxony . With the division of the house of Wettin in 1485, Thuringia went to the senior Ernestine branch of the family, which subsequently subdivided
15162-704: Was 15 years old. Bach later wrote several other works on the same theme. When Bach revisited Reincken in 1720 and showed him his improvisatory skills on the organ, Reincken reportedly remarked: "I thought that this art was dead, but I see that it lives in you." In 1706, Bach applied for a post as organist at the Blasius Church in Mühlhausen . As part of his application, he had a cantata performed on Easter, 24 April 1707, likely an early version of his Christ lag in Todes Banden . Bach's application
15295-410: Was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period . He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including orchestral music such as the Brandenburg Concertos ; solo instrumental works such as the cello suites and sonatas and partitas for solo violin ; keyboard works such as the Goldberg Variations and The Well-Tempered Clavier ; organ works such as
15428-547: Was accepted a month later, and he took up the post in July. The position included significantly higher remuneration, improved conditions, and a better choir. Four months after arriving at Mühlhausen, Bach married Maria Barbara Bach , his second cousin. Bach convinced the church and town government at Mühlhausen to fund an expensive renovation of the organ at the Blasius Church. In 1708, Bach wrote Gott ist mein König ,
15561-690: Was appointed Thomaskantor director of church music in Leipzig. He had to direct the St. Thomas School and provide four churches with music, the St. Thomas Church , the St. Nicholas Church , and to a lesser extent, the New Church and St. Peter's Church . This was "the leading cantorate in Protestant Germany", located in the mercantile city in the Electorate of Saxony , which he held for 27 years, until his death. During that time he gained further prestige through honorary appointments at
15694-578: Was appointed court musician in the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst III in Weimar . His role there is unclear, but it probably included menial, non-musical duties. During his seven-month tenure at Weimar, his reputation as a keyboardist spread so widely that he was invited to inspect the new organ and give the inaugural recital at the New Church (now Bach Church ) in Arnstadt , about 30 kilometres (19 mi) southwest of Weimar. On 14 August 1703, he became
15827-404: Was at the core of Bach's style, and his compositions are to a large extent considered to have laid down the rules for the evolving scheme that dominated musical expression in the next centuries. Some examples of this characteristic of Bach's style and its influence: Bach's insistence on the tonal system and contribution to shaping it did not imply he was less at ease with the older modal system and
15960-512: Was born in Eisenach , the capital of the duchy of Saxe-Eisenach , in present-day Germany, on 21 March 1685 O.S. (31 March 1685 N.S. ). He was the eighth and youngest child of Johann Ambrosius Bach , the director of the town musicians, and Maria Elisabeth Lämmerhirt . His father likely taught him violin and basic music theory . His uncles were all professional musicians who worked as church organists, court chamber musicians, and composers. One uncle, Johann Christoph Bach , introduced him to
16093-495: Was born, and Maria Barbara's elder, unmarried sister joined them. She remained to help run the household until she died in 1729. Three sons were also born in Weimar: Wilhelm Friedemann , Carl Philipp Emanuel , and Johann Gottfried Bernhard . Johann Sebastian and Maria Barbara had three more children—twins born in 1713 and a single birth; none survived past their first birthday. Bach's time in Weimar began
16226-420: Was collaborating with. He called one of them, Geyersbach, a "Zippel Fagottist" ( weenie bassoonist ). Late one evening, Geyersbach went after Bach with a stick. Bach filed a complaint against Geyersbach with the authorities. They acquitted Geyersbach with a minor reprimand and ordered Bach to be more moderate about the musical qualities he expected from his students. Some months later, Bach upset his employer with
16359-474: Was costly. He received valuable teaching from his brother, who instructed him on the clavichord . Johann Christoph exposed him to the works of great composers of the day, including South Germans such as Johann Caspar Kerll , Johann Jakob Froberger , and Johann Pachelbel (under whom Johann Christoph had studied); North Germans; Frenchmen such as Jean-Baptiste Lully , Louis Marchand , and Marin Marais ; and
16492-506: Was declining. On 2 June, Heinrich von Brühl wrote to one of the Leipzig burgomasters to request that his music director, Gottlob Harrer , fill the Thomaskantor and Director musices posts "upon the eventual ... decease of Mr. Bach". Becoming blind, Bach underwent eye surgery in March 1750 and again in April by the British eye surgeon John Taylor , a man widely understood today as
16625-576: Was generally quite specific on ornamentation in his compositions (in his time, much ornamentation was not written out by composers but rather considered a liberty of the performer), and his ornamentation was often quite elaborate. For instance, the "Aria" of the Goldberg Variations has rich ornamentation in nearly every measure. Bach's approach to ornamentation can also be seen in a keyboard arrangement he made of Marcello 's Oboe Concerto : he added explicit ornamentation, which centuries later
16758-532: Was hired as Thomaskantor ( cantor at St Thomas's ) in Leipzig . There, he composed music for the principal Lutheran churches of the city and its university's student ensemble Collegium Musicum . In 1726, he began publishing his keyboard and organ music. In Leipzig, as had happened during some of his earlier positions, he had difficult relations with his employer. This situation was somewhat remedied when his sovereign, Augustus III of Poland , granted him
16891-409: Was less moved. After a performance of his St Matthew Passion , someone said it all sounded much like opera. In concerted playing in Bach's time, the basso continuo, consisting of instruments such as organ, viola da gamba , or harpsichord, usually had the role of accompaniment, providing a piece's harmonic and rhythmic foundation. Beginning in the 1720s, Bach had the organ play concertante (i.e., as
17024-437: Was one of the dozens of private societies in the major German-speaking cities established by musically active university students; they had become increasingly important in public musical life and were typically led by the most prominent professionals in a city. In the words of Christoph Wolff , assuming the directorship was a shrewd move that "consolidated Bach's firm grip on Leipzig's principal musical institutions". Every week,
17157-403: Was part of Leipzig Bezirk. The present State of Thuringia was recreated with slightly altered borders during German reunification in 1990. From the northwest going clockwise; Thuringia borders on the German states of Lower Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt , Saxony , Bavaria and Hesse . The landscapes of Thuringia are quite diverse. The far north is occupied by the Harz mountains, followed by
17290-650: Was particularly attracted to the Italian style, in which one or more solo instruments alternate section-by-section with the full orchestra throughout a movement . In Weimar, Bach continued to play and compose for the organ and perform concert music with the duke's ensemble. He also began to write the preludes and fugues that were later assembled into his monumental work The Well-Tempered Clavier ("clavier" meaning clavichord or harpsichord), consisting of two books, each containing 24 preludes and fugues in every major and minor key. In Weimar Bach also started work on
17423-843: Was published in 1751. Together with one of J.S. Bach's former students, Johann Friedrich Agricola , C.P.E. Bach also wrote the obituary (" Nekrolog "), which was published in Mizler's Musikalische Bibliothek [ de ] , a periodical journal produced by the Society of Musical Sciences, in 1754. From an early age, Bach studied the works of his musical contemporaries of the Baroque period and those of earlier generations, and those influences are reflected in his music. Like his contemporaries Handel, Telemann, and Vivaldi, Bach composed concertos, suites, recitatives, da capo arias , and four-part choral music, and employed basso continuo . His music
17556-503: Was the basis of much of his work. In elaborating these hymns into his chorale preludes, he wrote more cogent and tightly integrated works than most, even when they were massive and lengthy. The large-scale structure of every major Bach sacred vocal work is evidence of subtle, elaborate planning to create religiously and musically powerful expression. For example, the St Matthew Passion , like other works of its kind, illustrated
17689-530: Was the last to abdicate. The former principality became a "Free State" in 1919 and joined the Weimar Republic as a constituent state. In 1920, it joined with other small states in the area to form the new state of Thuringia . Thuringia Thuringia , officially the Free State of Thuringia , is one of Germany's 16 states with 2.1 million people, its 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, its 11th-largest in area. Erfurt
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