Nathan Lewis

17048427

The Influence of French and Italian Music on J.S. Bach’s Suites

This short assignment seeks to assess the influence of French and Italian Music on J.S.
Bach’s suites.

Richard Taruskins Oxford History of Western Music was used as a resource in order to
further investigate the subject matter. From the literature studied, it is noted that Bach’s
predecessors who made use of imported styles includes but is not limited to Heinrich
Schutz and Johann Jacob Froberger. They had set a foundation for Bach’s use of French
and German music.

Bach sought out Georg Bohm as a role model, and got to know him during his student
years. Bach particularly emulated his fugues. Work: .Bach’s career did not differ from
those of his ancestors. He had the most traditional of careers for a musician of his habitat
and class. He served as music director at the municipal school attached to St. Thomas
Church. He was chosen only because two other more famous composers (Telemann and
Graupner) had turned down the job. So the town settled for what they considered to be
mediocrity: Bach. He, on the other hand, constantly looked for better employment, but
was unsuccessful, and so he worked there until his death.

Bach never left Germany. French music came to him through the musical publications
that circulated throughout Germany.
It could be said that Germany was a hub for music from all over to be used and explored
to further extents than what they could in their place of origin. Bach had simply used the
music that had been around. It has been established that Bach had not left Germany in
order to gain knowledge about French and Italian trends in music. Germans had been
utilizing French and Italian music to their disposal in order to gain the appreciation of the
public.
 Nathan Lewis
17048427

Throughout his life line, Bach had assimilated music to suit his needs. He embraced the
newly discovered tuning system by composing Das woltemperirte Clavier which
explores each of the pitches to its understandable extent. Within Das wohltemperirte
Clavier, Bach makes use of an arpeggiated which had been used by French court
harpsichordists. It is this assimilation of style used in a more complex manner for which
Bach is esteemed.
The suite of dances consisted of the Allemande from the French, the Courante of the
Italians, the Sarabande from the ‘New World’ and the Gigue from England and Ireland.
This suite of dances are appreciated and used together for their varying tempi and meter.

The French style was only fully used when Bach was ‘professionally required’ to
make use of it. Prince Leopold did not require Bach to compose and play elaborate
church pieces. Instead of requiring formal church hymns, Bach’s focus had shifted to
creating music for Prince Leopold’s musical pleasure.
In conclusion, it is notable that Bach followed German tradition by embracing foreign
styles instead of rejecting out of jealousy of something more beautiful. He had taken
advantage of the fact that he was surrounded by French music in Germany but had only
embraced it completely, once he was required to do so. It is evident that in his day, J.S.
Bach had not been a trend setter. Instead, he had taken already existing trends and
expanded them according to his musical skill.