Biography of Johann Sebastian Bach

The major works of this German composer and organist encompass every form save opera and oratorio and include the "Brandenburg Concertos" (1721), the "Musical Offering" (1747), and the "St. Matthew Passion" (1727). Bach was the perfecter of several centuries of the polyphonic style. He wedded an ironic sense of humor ("Coffee" and "Peasant" cantatas; English, Italian, and French suites) to a search for God in which his music transcended the harshness of life (the religious cantatas) -- all expressed either through the most brilliantly flowing and complex cyclic compositional technique or through the heartfelt directness of the solo sustained line ("Air on a G string" and the unaccompanied sonatas). ~ Blue Gene Tyranny