r art's sake--yet both were great.

It is convenient to speak of Bach's life as having been divided into
three stages or periods, each marked off from the rest by the nature
of the works to which it gave birth. Thus, the Weimar period is that
to which is assigned the major portion of his organ music. The Coethen
period, on the other hand, produced few compositions for the organ,
but was mainly devoted to instrumental chamber music; whilst to the
Leipzig period belongs the production of nearly all his finest Church
compositions.

Bach was laid to rest in the churchyard of St. John's Church at
Leipzig, but neither stone nor cross exists to mark the spot. Only the
register of deaths preserved in the town library remains to tell us
that 'A man, aged sixty-seven, M. Johann Sebastian Bach, Musical
Director and Singing Master of the St. Thomas School, was carried to
his grave in the hearse, July 30, 1750.'

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The word 'fugue' is derived from the Latin _fugare_, 'to put to
flight,' and aptly expresses the manner in which the various parts of a
fugue, as they are successively introduced, seem to 'chase the subject,
or motive, throughout the piece.'

[2] For an account of the revival of this great work, exactly one
hundred years after its first production, see the story of
Mendelssohn.

BACH'S PRINCIPAL COMPOSITIONS

Passion Music (St. John). 1724.
Passion Music (St. Matthew), for double choir. 1729.
Passion Music (St. Luke). 1734.
Mass in B minor, 1732-1738.
4 Short Masses in F, A, G minor, and G.
[These consist of settings of the Kyrie and Gloria only, being
the parts sung in the Lutheran service.]
4 Sanctuses in C, D, D minor, and G.
Magnificat in D. 1723.
Funeral Ode. 1727.
Christmas Oratorio, in six sections, for performance on successive
days. 1734.
Easter Oratorio. 1736.
191 Church Cantatas.
3 Wedding Cantatas.
6 Motets for five or eight voices.
22 Secular Cantatas.
371 Chorales for four voices, many of them taken from the
works named above.
[Of these compositions the Matthew Passion, the John Passion,
the Christmas Oratorio, the Magnificat, the Motets, and 25 of
the Church Cantatas have been printed with English words.]
The Well-Tempered Clavier (48 Preludes and Fugues). }
1722-1744. }
Klavier-Uebung, or Clavier Practice, in four parts. }
1731-1742. }
Mu