Bach spent the height of his working life in a Lutheran church position in Leipzig, as both organist and music director. Much of his music is overtly religious, while many of his secular works admit religious interpretations on some levels. "His large output of organ music is considered to be the greatest legacy of compositions for the instrument, and is the measure by which all later efforts are judged. Hi

At Mulhausen he married Maria Barbara Bach, a second cousin, and hence carried out his duties with energy of a prolific composer in his early twenties. She was the source of much of his happiness. "During the year there, he wrote a festive cantata Gott ist mein Konig, (God is my shepherd, BWV 71) for the inauguration of city council in 1708 and also various cantatas of moderate interest." (Bach Central Station) He also wrote a great number of solo keyboard works, among them Partitas, Prelude & Fugues, and Fantasias. He acquired his fame largely through his virtuoso organ playing in secular contexts. However, the opportunities for composition and performance is still somewhat limited. He left in June 1708 after a dispute between the factions of orthodox Luterans and the more puritan Pietists threatened to restrict what music could be performed there - although some say that Bach did not necessarily involve himself in the dispute. He accepted an invitation to be the organist and court musician to Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Weimar. Despite the problems at Mulhausen, "he remained on good terms with the employer, and in 1709 returned to perform Ein' feste Burg (BWV 720) on the newly restored organ, the building of which he had supervised." (J.S. Bach Archive and Bibliography)

In 1703, after testing the new organ in the church of St Boniface of Arnstadt, 20 miles southwest of Weimar, he was invited to become the organist and choirmaster there with a good salary. He was allowed to test the organ as he had family connexion in Arnstadt - a few distant relatives as well as his stepmother Barbara Margaretha. They were so impressed by his mastery that an appointment was made on the spot. After that he often had contracts as an organ consultant. For only an organ-master would know how to adjust precisely the wind pressure and such components for the newly built organ to sound best with the acoustics. In 1705 he obtained a month's leave to hear Buxtehude play and direct the famous Abendmusiken at Lubeck, returning only some months later. He was interested in succeeding Buxtehude as the organist there, but refused when he found out that he had to marry Buxtehude's daughter, Anna Margaretha! Handel was known to have refused the post for exactly the same reason. In any case, the church council was not pleased with his late return, and the congregation disliked the innovation he introduced into the services, and he soon made a move to Mahlhausen, a free-city 36 miles northwest of Arnstadt, in 1707 as an organist at the church of St Blasius. (The J.S. Bach Home Page)

At the time of Bach, the society was very much based on the "Lord of the Manor" concept, even in Germany. Musicians were a special sort of servant, who also had to be faithful to their masters and had to wear uniform at work. If one was born in a particular province, and the land happened to belong to the local Duke, one was to be his servant. Although the servants are generally fairly well looked after, there was still little freedom, and one could not change trade easily.

After his days at the Lateinschule, he was educated at the Eisenach Grammar School, and did well at school, showing a strong inclination toward theology. In the early 1690s, Bach's family had suffered heavy losses: "first of all the loss of 2 of his brothers, and shortly followed by his mother. His father remarried with Barbara Margaretha Bartholomaei, but he was only to pass away 3 months later." (J.S. Bach Archive and Bibliography) At this time Bach was already a competent violinist who had taken up the viola that was to be his main string instrument for the rest of his life, and he had a fair knowledge of music theory. When he was sent to Johann Christopher in Ohrdruf, he was given keyboard instructions. On his arrival, he was enrolled in the third class at the old Klosterschule, with the reformed timetable where geography, music and natural sciences were also taught. Several moves were to follow, possibly

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