The Joy of Bach Essay -- Biography Composers Music Essays

The Joy of Bach The Baroque period was filled with the new idea that every issue had two sides. Great thinkers and masterminds left behind the idea that the world was either god- influenced or science-influenced. Most people embraced this notion, with the exception of a few. Johann Sebastian Bach was one of these few people. Bach, although the greatest composer of the Baroque period, led a life based on tradition and past influence, which left him virtually ignored for many years after his death. Bach was born in 1685 in Germany amongst the turmoil of national reconstruction. He lived a quiet life with little musical influence, until the death of his parents at age ten. After their death, Bach’s older brother, who taught the very young Bach to play clavichord and harpsichord, raised Bach. Now, his life had the musical influence that is associated with Bach’s greatness. At the age of eighteen, he joined an orchestra where he learned to play the violin and organ. During this time the musical genius of Bach began to emerge (Jackson 15). Although Bach’s name is widely recognized today, his contemporaries held little respect for his creative works (Herz 1). Only his skills as an organist were highly recognized and praised by those who knew of him. Many organ builders would not allow anyone but Bach to approve their creations. The composer’s works remained unpublished and unrecognized until many years after his death. One explanation for Bach’s lack of recognition is his modesty over the works he created. He did not consider himself a genius. Bach merely sought to be industrious and diligent in his work. Most of his works are signed, â€Å"I did what I could† (Herz 2)... ... The last five years of Bach’s life made up the fifth period of his work. He wrote in a style unique to himself during the Baroque period that became known as the Bach style. He would create a line of melody and establish it in a song. Then, he would create variations of the melody to make up the rest of the piece. The longest composition contains eighteen variations, each distinct, but dependent upon one line of melody. The composers that followed Bach attempted to recreate his works, but none have reached his level of perfection (Jackson 16). Though born in a turmoil-ridden Germany and ignored during his life and nearly 80 years after his death, Bach was the greatest and most influential composer from the Baroque period. His music has come to life and will likely never die. Johann Sebastian Bach will remain in the top of his class of composers. The Joy of Bach Essay -- Biography Composers Music Essays The Joy of Bach The Baroque period was filled with the new idea that every issue had two sides. Great thinkers and masterminds left behind the idea that the world was either god- influenced or science-influenced. Most people embraced this notion, with the exception of a few. Johann Sebastian Bach was one of these few people. Bach, although the greatest composer of the Baroque period, led a life based on tradition and past influence, which left him virtually ignored for many years after his death. Bach was born in 1685 in Germany amongst the turmoil of national reconstruction. He lived a quiet life with little musical influence, until the death of his parents at age ten. After their death, Bach’s older brother, who taught the very young Bach to play clavichord and harpsichord, raised Bach. Now, his life had the musical influence that is associated with Bach’s greatness. At the age of eighteen, he joined an orchestra where he learned to play the violin and organ. During this time the musical genius of Bach began to emerge (Jackson 15). Although Bach’s name is widely recognized today, his contemporaries held little respect for his creative works (Herz 1). Only his skills as an organist were highly recognized and praised by those who knew of him. Many organ builders would not allow anyone but Bach to approve their creations. The composer’s works remained unpublished and unrecognized until many years after his death. One explanation for Bach’s lack of recognition is his modesty over the works he created. He did not consider himself a genius. Bach merely sought to be industrious and diligent in his work. Most of his works are signed, â€Å"I did what I could† (Herz 2)... ... The last five years of Bach’s life made up the fifth period of his work. He wrote in a style unique to himself during the Baroque period that became known as the Bach style. He would create a line of melody and establish it in a song. Then, he would create variations of the melody to make up the rest of the piece. The longest composition contains eighteen variations, each distinct, but dependent upon one line of melody. The composers that followed Bach attempted to recreate his works, but none have reached his level of perfection (Jackson 16). Though born in a turmoil-ridden Germany and ignored during his life and nearly 80 years after his death, Bach was the greatest and most influential composer from the Baroque period. His music has come to life and will likely never die. Johann Sebastian Bach will remain in the top of his class of composers.

Neanderthals and Human Evolution Essay

The Neanderthals are an extinct species in the homo genus. They lived during the Pleistocene age. The Neanderthals are believed to have lived in most of Eurasia from 120,000 years ago to about 30,000 years ago. They were a more advanced pre-modern variation of the homo genus. The reason they are viewed as more advanced than other Pre-modern hominids is because they made tools, buried their dead they also lived to around forty years of age. This is quite long compared to their contemporaries. Their tools and artifacts characterize what is known as the Mousterian. To be precise the Neanderthals created flake tools. Tools made by the breakage of flakes of stone off of a larger rock. One example of these are the hand axes and smaller tools with a sharp cutting edge. They were large game hunters who were specially adapted to thrive in the frigid conditions of the middle Pleistocene in Europe. They seem to have originally evolved in Europe at around 250,000 years ago, but latter expanded into southwest Asia. The Neanderthals appear to have been the first hominids who deliberately buried their dead. The graves sometimes included flowers, tools, and food. This could possibly signify a belief in an afterlife. There is also some evidence that they would as a group care for injured or deficient members of their community showing that they had likely had the capacity for compassion. The first Neanderthal remains were discovered in the Neander valley in Germany. The remains show that the Neanderthals were about five feet tall with a stocky and powerful build. While they did have prominent brow ridges and an occipital bun their brain size is comparable to modern day human size. Their population went in to decline and eventually became extinct when the Homo sapiens began to move in to their territory. There are a couple theories on what occurred at this point. One theory is that Homo sapiens either killed off the Neanderthals or took over so much of the land that the Neanderthals couldn’t survive on what was left to them.

Benefits Of Long Distance Runners - 951 Words

When I think of Kenya, I think of long distance runners, I think of the beginning of man, I think of its plethora of wildlife, and I think of Barack Obama. What I have never contemplated was Kenya’s agriculture and how it has affected the culture and economics of Kenya. â€Å"Tea, coffee, sisal, pyrethrum, corn, and wheat are grown in the fertile highlands, one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa. Production is mainly on small African owned farms formed from the division of formerly European-owned estates.† Coffee in Kenya is big business, but it is grown mainly on small farms by coops of farmers working together. Looking into Kenya’s past will help to clarify how coffee became an agricultural commodity, and give insight into its beginnings. Before outsiders came into Africa, the country now known as Kenya was a nomadic area inhabited by Cushite people. It was not until the first century B.C. that Arabic people came to the area as traders. They soon began to colonize areas along the coast of the Indian Ocean. Also in the first century the Bantu began to settle areas inland from the coast. It took the Europeans over fourteen hundred more years to make their way to Kenya. Kenya was now under the rule of the Portuguese. In the sixteen hundreds Kenya came under Islamic rule, until the nineteenth century when it became a British colony. It is in the 19th century that an eastern area of Africa becomes Kenya. In 1888 Kenya comeShow MoreRelatedConquering Endurance Running: Minimizing Risk and Running Injury Free1200 Words   |  5 Pages could achieve such tasking running distance. Elite runners complete the marathon course in just over 2 hours, while the average runner completes it in about 4.5 hours. It’s difficult to comprehend how someone could run, consistently, for 4.5 hours.The actual marathon is simply a formality as the journey starts the day training begins. 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