J.S Bach: Baroque Composer

On March 21, 1685, Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany. Under his dad and uncle’s tutelage, Bach learned to play the harpsichord, violin, and organ.
Sadly, by the age of ten, both of his parents had died. Bach went to live with his oldest brother, Johann Christoph, who was an organist. Naturally, Bach continued to be educated in music.

Bach was a composer and musician during the Baroque Period. Not only was he an excellent composer, he was also very good at singing. In addition to composing and singing, at various times in his life, Bach held the position of church organist, city organist, member of the chamber orchestra and Organist to the Court for the Duke in Weimar, Kapellmeister in the Cothen court, and choir leader among other jobs! He was a hard worker and his compositions totaled over a thousand! Some of the famous musical pieces which he composed include: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Air on the G String, and Wachet auf. He wrote in every known musical form except opera. A lot of the music Bach composed was for churches. Best of all, he did it for God’s glory. Bach said, "Music’s only purpose should be for the glory of God and the recreation of the human spirit." At the end of his compositions, Bach wrote S. D. G. which stood for "Soli Deo Gloria". That is Latin for "To God alone be the glory!" It is fitting since God is the One who gave Bach his incredible gift for music.

Some interesting facts include the following:

- Bach worked for the Duke of Saxony-Weimar for nine years. When he tried to quit his job, the duke put him in jail for a month! Thankfully, Bach was able to leave after that.

- Bach loved coffee and wrote a cantata about it.

- Of the seventy-six musicians in Bach’s family, over fifty had the name Johann.

- The Goldberg Variations were written to help a count who suffered from insomnia. Apparently, it helped him sleep because the count sent Bach the biggest payment he ever received.

In 1750, Johann Sebastian Bach died of a stroke; he was 65 years old and blind due to an operation meant to help his vision which failed. In addition to being a brilliant composer, Bach had been a Daddy to twenty children (though only half lived to become adults); four of them eventually became famous musicians themselves.

Miss Alyssa, a 15 year old homeschooler, is interested in writing and film-making for the glory of God and the furtherance of His Kingdom. She is passionate about reaching the unreached with the Gospel. She blogs at One Nation Under GOD.

*Information regarding Bach was gathered from the following two primary sources: Christian Kids Experience Composers by Melissa Craig and Maggie Hogan and Lives of the Musicians by Kathleen Krull.

Basic Cake Decorating Tutorial

by Lady Jess

Basic Cake Decorating
Kathy Brodock
Teaching Good Things
www.teachinggoodthings.com

This DVD was a step by step lesson on cake making and cake decorating. Mrs. Brodock has been baking and decorating cakes for over twenty-years, and now she wants to share her knowledge with the next generation of homemakers. You can find all kinds of different tutorials on homemaking skills from cake decorating to quilting.

She says "I have created hundreds of cakes for just about every occasion! I have catered countless parties and weddings. In addition, I have taught dozens of cake decorating classes to adults and children. I have packed everything you need to know about basic cake decorating into this one-hour DVD."

"Is it hard to squeeze the extra money from your budget to take a class? At a fraction of the cost of taking classes, you can learn the basic techniques in the privacy and convenience of your own home."

The level of difficulty would be simple for anyone who is familiar with baking cakes, yet also easy enough for someone who is not. This DVD tutorial was easy to follow along with,and she made it seem quite like "a piece of cake". This was much easier to follow than most popular cooking shows and a down to earth viewing that wasn't intimidating. You could tell that Mrs. Brodock has experience with baking cakes and that she has a passion for using her creativity while teaching. Listening to her voice throughout the video brought a comfort feeling that reminds me of baking with my own mother, yet my mother doesn't have that sweet southern accent.

I admire this family for putting together this video in their own home to encourage others in this simple, but important, homemaking skill. Because this was a homemade film it makes it seem as if I was there in her kitchen as if Mrs. Brodock was speaking directly to me.

I thought that this tutorial video demonstration was very informative. It had many great ideas in it and many different techniques and tips that I feel is very useful. I think the decorating idea that I enjoyed the most was both the roses and the regular waves. I think that I will have to make myself a cake soon and put this lesson to good use for my family. Mrs. Brodock made it look so easy! I really enjoyed what this tutorial gave me, and I'm sure you will too!


Lady Jess is a teen lady who is homeschooled along with her siblings. She assists her mother in teaching her younger siblings, is an interpreter in her church's deaf ministry, sings in the choir, and is assisting her family's ministry for Literacy for Adult Education.