Q 01/05

In which town was Johann Sebastian Bach born in 1685?

A) Weimar

B) Halle

C) Eisenach

D) Leipzig

Answer · why

C) Eisenach

He was the eighth and youngest child of the town's director of musicians.

Q 02/05

To which musical period does Bach belong?

A) The late Baroque

B) The early Romantic

C) The Renaissance

D) The Classical

Answer · why

A) The late Baroque

He died in 1750, the year often used to mark the end of the Baroque.

Q 03/05

How old was Bach when he was orphaned?

A) 10

B) 6

C) 8

D) 4

Answer · why

A) 10

His mother died in 1694 and his father eight months later; he went to live with his eldest brother in Ohrdruf.

Q 04/05

What did the young Bach do in Ohrdruf despite being forbidden, since scores and paper were costly?

A) Composed a cantata

B) Played the church organ

C) Copied music

D) Sold his brother's books

Answer · why

C) Copied music

His brother Johann Christoph, a pupil of Pachelbel, also taught him the clavichord.

Q 05/05

At which Lüneburg school did Bach continue his education from 1700, singing in the choir?

A) St Thomas's

B) St Michael's

C) St Nicholas's

D) St Blasius's

Answer · why

B) St Michael's

The journey there from Ohrdruf, two weeks' travel, was probably made mostly on foot.