The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship (sometimes simply called Euro 2024) is hosted by Germany this year. It is taking place from 14th June until the 14th July. There are 24 teams taking place. Germany automatically qualified but the remaining 23 teams have had to play qualifying matches. 

In the run up to the final, we are going to visit some of the countries who have made it into the competition and listen to some of their traditional music, or to the music of some of their most famous composers.

This week we are heading to the host country: Germany. 

Germany - Bach 

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Germany in 1685. Bach came from a long line of composers - over 300 years' worth of Bachs all worked as professional musicians. By the time Johann was 10, both his parents had died, so he was brought up by his older brother, who was a church organist. Johann became a very good organist, too. 
 
During his lifetime, people thought of Bach as just an ordinary working musician. No one really knew much about his music until 100 years after his death, when another composer, Felix Mendelssohn, conducted a performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion. 
 
Bach is now seen as one of the greatest geniuses in music history. He wrote all kinds of music -- for organ and other keyboard instruments, orchestras, choirs, and concertos for many different instrumental combinations