Chapter 23 Quiz

. Which statement about J.S. Bach's life and work in Leipzig is NOT true?

He derived great joy from teaching Latin at the Thomas School.

He composed music for the city's civic functions and principal churches.

His remains are now buried at St. Thomas church.

Local authorities often found his musical standards to be too high.

. Which of Bach's pieces features a contrapuntal treatment of his own name?

The Messiah

Brandenburg Concerto #5

The Art of Fugue

Musical Offering

. Consider the following statement and choose the best response: "J.S. Bach fathered 20 children in his life: seven in his marriage to Maria Barbara Bach, who died while her husband was accompanying his employer to the court of Louis XIV, and the rest in his marriage to Anna Magdalena Bach, a singer and skilled musician who produced copies of her husband's work."

The statement is true.

The statement is false because all 20 of Bach's children were born to Anna Magdalena Bach.

The statement is false because Maria Barbara Bach died while her husband was accompanying his employer on an extended trip to a spa.

The statement is false because Anna Magdalena Bach was a skilled poet but complete novice in music who never appreciated her husband's talent as a composer.

. Which piece by J.S. Bach contains a cycle of pieces written in each of the 24 major and minor keys?

The Art of Fugue

The Well-Tempered Clavier

The Brandenburg Concertos

The Musical Offering

. Which of the following was one of J.S. Bach's tasks in Weimar?

He composed several dozen "church sonatas."

He served as court violinist.

He maintained and repaired organs

He taught the Duke of Weimar's children in both music and Latin.

. Where did Bach live while he composed the Brandenburg concertos?

Cöthen

Brandenburg

Leipzig

Berlin

. Consider the following statement and choose the best response: "J.S. Bach composed nearly 300 cantatas, or five annual cycles, of which about half are lost."

The statement is true.

The statement is false because J.S. Bach composed nearly 500 cantatas.

The statement is false because J.S. Bach's cantatas represent fourteen annual cycles.

The statement is false because about 100 of J.S. Bach's cantatas are lost.

. Which statement about Bach's family life is NOT true?

Two of his sons were more famous during their lifetimes than their father was in his.

Bach came from a long line of musicians reaching back into the 16^th century.

Bach was born in Belgium, but grew up in Leipzig.

Bach's first significant position was as court organist in Weimar.

. Which statement about Bach's notoriety is true?

Bach was widely known throughout Europe both during and after his life.

Bach lived and worked within a fairly small area of central Germany, and thus was not widely known.

Bach's skill as a violist was widely known, particularly in Russia, but his compositional genius was not known for generations.

Bach's compositions were not rediscovered and performed after his death until the late 1950s.

. Which Prussian monarch did Bach visit late in his life?

Frederick the Great

George III

Otto von Bismarck II

Julian V

. A medium-length narrative work for chorus, soloists, and orchestra is called a____.

Lutheran Mass

Choral anthem

Cori spezzati

Cantata

. Which statement about Bach's life and work in Cöthen is true?

His employment there only began after his former employer, the duke of Weimar, released him from prison over the fact that Bach wanted to leave.

In Cöthen, Bach wrote many instrumental pieces including his famous Cöthen Concertos.

Bach met his first wife, Maria Barbara, on his first day in service to the prince of Cöthen.

It was in Cöthen that Bach set his famous Toccata and Fugue for full orchestra.

. Consider the following statement and choose the most accurate response: "Scholars agree that J.S. Bach wrote the famous Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, but debate whether or not he originally wrote it for the harpsichord or for the organ."

The statement is true.

The statement is false because scholars are not in agreement as to Bach's authorship of this piece.

The statement is false because no scholar argues that Bach composed this piece for the harpsichord first.

The statement is false for both of the reasons listed in answers b and c.

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