Bach

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             The Duke of Weimar loved Bach's organ music and as a result the majority of Bach's organ music was written in Weimar (Wolff). Bach also had many students while in Weimar, but he was not satisfied so he started searching for a new job. He was offered a job at Cothen, which he accepted, and Bach and his family then moved to Cothen. While working there, he composed many of his cantatas and became good friends with the prince who loved and understood music. In Cothen he also had many private students to go along with his other duties. The prince also was married and his wife broke up Bach and the prince's relationship, which forced Bach to look for a new position (Wolff).
             Bach's last major move placed him in Leipzig, which is where his life came to an end. As Wolff stated, "it . . . explained the circumstances in which Bach worked at Leipzig. To him the Kantorate was a step downwards in the social scale, and he had little respect for his employers . . .he was third-rate, a mediocrity, who would not do what they expected a Kantor to do . . .the stage was set for trouble, and in due course trouble came" (Wolff). Bach took the job of the Kantor at the Thomasschule, which was one of the most notable positions in German music. The duties expected at Leipzig were much greater than those at Cothen or Weimar. Bach's duties included, the responsibility for the music for the four-principle church's, the town's musical life and teaching at the Thomasschule. The majority of his music composed in Leipzig was energetic church music. Bach spent most of 1733 working on the Kyrie and Gloria for his B Minor Mass, with which he hoped to acquire a new job. Then in the 1740's his writing slowed down and the only new vocal works composed of any stature were the Credo and following sections of his B Minor Mass. In the later years of his life, Bach had severe troubles with his eyes, which lead to eventual blindness.