he St. Thomas School at Leipsic and music
director of the university, as the successor of Johannes Kuhnau. In
this position he had the direction of the music in the St. Thomas
Church, where he had at his disposal an orchestra, organ, and two
choirs, besides which he trained the school-children. He here wrote an
enormous amount of church music, consisting of a very large number of
cantatas for church service, of which first and last he seems to have
produced five entire series for every festival Sunday in the year.
These cantatas were short oratorios consisting of choruses, solos,
recitatives, instrumental movements, and were frequently of
considerable elaboration. Many of them are now lost, but a very
considerable number remain. He also composed five oratorios for the
Good Friday season--Passion music--of which three yet remain, the most
famous one being the "St. Matthew's Passion."

[Illustration: Joh. Sebastian Bach, Geo. Fred. Haendel]

Bach was married twice, and had, in all, eleven sons and nine
daughters, of whom six sons and four daughters survived him. As a
practical musician Bach excelled upon the violin, the organ, and the
clavier, and he left a very large number of works in all three of these
departments, works which still remain the admiration of musicians the
world over. His genius was unquestioned in his own lifetime, and the
memory of it remained lively even during the fifty years following his
death when very few of his works were accessible.

The most complete biography of Bach is the large work by Spitta, in
three volumes, in which the entire life-history of this great master,
and all the circumstances amid which he worked, his discouragements,
and what he accomplished, have been traced with most patient and loving
care.

The list of Bach's compositions includes three sonatas and three
partitas (generally classed as six sonatas) for violin alone; six
sonatas for violin and piano, a large quantity of chamber music of one
sort and another, a few orchestral suites, and about ten large volumes
of music for the clavier and for the organ.

GEORG FRIEDRICH HAeNDEL.

Born February 23, 1685, at Halle.
Died April 14, 1759, in London.

Haendel was the son of a surgeon and it was the wish of his father to
educate him to his own profession, but the inclination to music was so
strong that it was impossible to prevent him from following it, and,
accordingly, he had the best training it was poss