He also wrote pieces for solo instruments, including some of his finest violin works. While at Cöthen, Bach devoted much of his time to instrumental music, composing concertos for orchestras, dance suites and sonatas for multiple instruments. He played the violin and often bought musical scores while traveling abroad. In early December, Bach was released and allowed to go to Cöthen. But Duke Wilhelm Ernst had no interest in letting Bach go and even imprisoned him for several weeks when he tried to leave.
In 1717, Bach accepted a position with Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen. One section of this cantata, called "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" in English, is especially famous. He also composed the cantata "Herz und Mund und Tat," or Heart and Mouth and Deed. During his time at Weimar, Bach wrote "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor," one of his most popular pieces for the organ. He wrote many church cantatas and some of his best compositions for the organ while working for the duke. While he only officially received a few weeks' leave from the church, he traveled to Lübeck to hear famed organist Dietrich Buxtehude and extended his stay without informing anyone back in Arnstadt.Īfter a year in Mühlhausen, Bach won the post of organist at the court of the Duke Wilhelm Ernst in Weimar. An independent and sometimes arrogant young man, Bach did not get along well with his students and was scolded by church officials for not rehearsing them frequently enough.īach did not help his situation when he disappeared for several months in 1705. He was responsible for providing music for religious services and special events as well as giving music instruction. Early Careerīach had a growing reputation as a great performer, and it was his great technical skill that landed him the position of organist at the New Church in Arnstadt. There he was a jack-of-all-trades, serving as a violinist and at times, filling in for the official organist. In 1703, he landed his first job as a musician at the court of Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar. Bach was greatly influenced by a local organist named George Böhm. Sometime after his arrival, his voice changed and Bach switched to playing the violin and the harpsichord. Bach had a beautiful soprano singing voice, which helped him land a place at a school in Lüneburg.