Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) was a composer and virtuoso organist. His sacred music, organ and choral works, and other
instrumental music had an enthusiasm and seeming freedom that concealed
immense rigor. Bach’s use of counterpoint was brilliant and innovative,
and the immense complexities of his compositional style — which often
included religious and numerological symbols that seem to fit perfectly
together in a profound puzzle of special codes — still amaze musicians
today. Many experts of classical music from the middle of the 20th century on consider him as the greatest music composer of all time.
Revered for their intellectual depth, technical command and artistic beauty, Bach's works include the Brandenburg concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Partitas, The Well-Tempered Clavier, the Mass in B Minor, the St Matthew Passion, the St John Passion, the Magnificat, The Musical Offering, The Art of Fugue, the English and French Suites, the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, the Cello Suites, more than 200 surviving cantatas, and a similar number of organ works, including the celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor.