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MR BACH COMES TO CALL

1. The spaceship Voyager was carrying ___________ pieces of music.


2. 3 of those pieces were written by Johann Sebastian _________.
3. The girl looked forward to practising her piano everyday. TRUE / FALSE
4. Her name is _____________.
5. Bach told her to relax her arms / shoulders / fingers. (circle 2)
6. At first, Elizabeth wanted Bach to take the piano away. TRUE / FALSE
7. She changed her mind after listening to him ___________ the piano.
8. The boy from the choir was a composer / conductor / singer.
9. The Duke’s orchestra was used to accompany the ______________ in the Sunday Cantatas.
10. The Cantatas were written by the Duke himself. TRUE / FALSE
11. The musician’s gallery was ________________ and __________________.
12. “Maybe you know this one”: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring is played by the piano / violin / flute.
13. The boy wanted to eat ______________ and ______________________.
14. The Duke put Bach in jail. TRUE / FALSE
15. Bach had 1 _________________ and 2 _______________, aged 9, 7 and 3.
16. He missed them so he wrote _________________ for them.
17. What are some instruments that he wrote for? (Circle all that you hear)
Trombone Flute Horn Oboe Clarinet Harpsichord Piano Timpani
Glockenspiel Trumpet Bassoon Xylophone Organ Guitar Strings
18. The organ has ________________ keyboards altogether.
19. Organ stops make the sounds of different instruments. TRUE / FALSE
20. “It was like playing music on a __________________.”
21. He was offered the job of Kappelmeister by ____________ Leopold.
22. Her pet fish is also named “Prince”. TRUE / FALSE
23. Bach thinks that a castle / garden / hall is a wonderful place for kids.
24. When he wrote his 6 Brandenburg Concertos, Bach already had _____________ children.
25. “Better to be ___________ and __________ you’re the best than to ___________ to the world.”
26. Bach and Prince Leopold had a good / bad relationship.
27. They often practised together through the night. TRUE / FALSE
28. The boys in the choir in Arnstadt were mischievous / obedient.
29. Buxtehude was a famous ________________.
30. How late was Bach in getting back from Lubec? ________ months!
31. The Prince brought his own __________________ from the castle.
32. Bach enjoyed the spa but didn’t enjoy the music. TRUE / FALSE
33. His wife died when she was 30 / 35 / 40 years old.
34. He enjoyed playing _______________ games with his children.
35. His Prelude in C is based on chords - opening them up and spreading them out. TRUE / FALSE
36. The only way to master a piece is to ________________ it!
37. In those day, girls were meant to be cooks / servants / mothers.
38. Bach’s father taught him to play the ______________.
39. All 10 children used to sit in the kitchen and play music and sing together. TRUE / FALSE
40. Anna Magdalena was a ________________.
41. Bach didn’t like Prince Leopold’s new wife because she didn’t like ________________.
42. In Leipzig, he wrote a new Cantata every week / month / day.
43. It would have taken ___________ years to copy out all of the music that Bach had written.
44. Altogether the musicians and singers needed ______________ sets of music.
45. Bach enjoyed the concerts, but could not stand the wigs! TRUE / FALSE
46. In total Bach had ________ kids, he says being around them keeps him _____________.
47. Johann Cristoph taught him to play the ____________.
48. Bach used to copy the music by candlelight / moonlight.
49. The Bachs were all famous musicians. TRUE / FALSE
50. The musical picnics were like Bachs on a _____________ making _____________.
51. He turns the nursery rhyme into a Fugue / Cantata / Round.
52. What tune do they dance to? ______________________________
53. Bach wrote the Goldberg variations for Mr Goldberg’s boss who was a _____________.
54. In German, B natural was called ______.
55. St. Matthew’s Passion was well-loved by the public. TRUE / FALSE
56. Bach’s music was unpopular for _________ years after his death.
57. He visits children to make sure his music is never again __________.
58. “All you have to do is hit the right __________ at the right ____________.”
59. It is just as important to understand / listen to / appreciate and love music as it is to play it.
60. How old was Bach when he died? __________ years old.
Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)

"He who knows a fugue by Bach knows really only one." Kinnberger, one of Bach's pupils
once said these words attesting to his virtuosity. Bach has been called "the Great Master of
the Fugue."

Bach came from a family of musicians who often occupied important musical positions in
Eisenach, Germany. When Bach was only 10 years old he went to live with his brother
Christoph upon the death of his parents.

Christoph taught Johann to play the harpsichord, the organ, and the violin. At 18, Bach
accepted his first musical position as a court violinist. He soon exchanged this for a position
as a church organist. During this period Bach wrote many cantatas for the church, as well
as suites for the harpsichord and fugues for the piano.

In 1717, Bach became the court conductor to the Prince of Anhalt at Cothen. Here, Bach
composed much of his orchestral music including the Brandenburg Concertos. In 1723
Bach assumed the position of music director of Thomaschule in Leipzig. It was here that
Bach wrote his famous "Christmas Oratorio."

By 1749, Bach was totally blind. He died the following year at Leipzig on July 28, 1750.
Much of Bach's music was not published or performed during his lifetime. The composers
Mendelssohn and Schumann helped to make Bach's music well known almost 100 years
after his death. In 1977, 3 pieces by Bach along with special record-playing equipment were
launched into the solar system on the 2 Voyager spacecraft.

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