In class we learnt that J. S. Bach spent the last 27 years of his life working at Leipzig, Germany at St. Thomas church and school.

Before accepting the position, Bach was required to sign a contract with the Town Council of Leipzig that listed 14 duties and commitments he was expected to fulfill.

Read the PDF document entitled: “Bach’s Duties and Obligations at Leipzig” listing these 14 duties of employment. (The PDF can be found below, at the end of this document.)

Write a short essay (250-300 words) discussing some of the requirements for Bach’s employment. If you are unfamiliar with musicians working in religious institutions today, discuss your perception of Bach’s working conditions compared to other artists, musical or otherwise, with which you are familiar. How do Bach’s conditions compare? By today’s standards, do you think Bach’s obligations were somewhat restrictive or does he appear to have had considerable artistic license to produce music of his choice? Give examples from the list of 14 requirements to support you answers.

WRITING GUIDELINES

• Your assignment should be between 250 – 300 words.
• Arrange your report into short, well-structured paragraphs, using a topic sentence to begin each paragraph.
• Make sure the information in each of your paragraphs relates to your opening topic sentence.
• Begin with a short opening paragraph outlining the main focus, stance or argument of your paper.
• Insert page numbers using the program on your computer.
• Use twelve-point font; use standard fonts such as Times, Times New Roman, or Arial.
• Double-space your paper.
• Carefully spell check and proof read your paper for errors.
• You will be graded not only on the ideas that you present (and support) but also on your clarity of expression (organization of your paper at the micro- and macro-level).
• If possible, print out your paper and read it before submitting it. It is much easier to catch mistakes on paper than on the computer screen.
• Cite all sources you use for the paper, as per the instructions regarding citing sources below.
• Submit your paper through Canvas. (We do not accept papers via email.)

CITING SOURCES FOR ALL ASSIGNMENTS

Download or Create Tab:

• A quick citation guide for the 17th ed. of the Chicago Manual of Style is online at: (Links to an external site.)https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citatio…

“The Chicago Manual of Style presents two basic documentation systems: (1) notes and bibliography and (2) author-date. Choosing between the two often depends on subject matter and the nature of sources cited, as each system is favored by different groups of scholars.”

• CLICK ON: “Go to Author-Date Style”

• Note: Use Author-Date Style for all applicable assignments.

·Include a Reference List (in alphabetical order) at the end of all assignments. Note: Reference lists do not count towards your assignment’s word count. Use in-text citations.