Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750)
Johann Sebastian Bach, one of the greatest composers in
Western musical history, created masterpieces of choral and
instrumental music, both sacred and secular. More than 1,000
of his compositions survive, including works in virtually every
musical form and genre in use in 18th-century Germany.
Bach's finest music was written for the church, including the
St. Matthew Passion (1792) and the Mass in B-minor. Bach's
is now regarded as the high point of the baroque era, which
lasted from 1600 to 1750, the year of his death.