“Johann Sebastian Bach”, Volume 1 by Philipp Spitta

Completed on 20^th of March 2017.

Review: 

Considered to be the most in depth biography of JS Bach and his family; published in 1873. It is very detailed indeed and apart from J. S. Bach’s life and music, it also covers Bach’s family tree and music of the other Bach relatives. 
The first volume covers Bach’s life till his departure from Weimar in 1717. It has been said that what was missing in this biography was not worth knowing. I fully agree. Comparing with all the other Bach’s biographies I have read to date, this is the most complete one.

Inspect the whole Music Section -->

Notes

Bach family produced over 50 known musicians and several known composers over nearly 200 years.

Bach Family Partial Tree (source: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Family-Tree.htm)

Veit Bach (? – 1578) had four sons:

1. Veit (Vitus) Bach (? – 1619)
2. Caspar Bach (~1570 – 1640)
3. Johann(es) [Hans] Bach (1550-1626
4. Lips (Philippus) Bach (~1552 - ?)

Lips’ son – Wendell (~1580 - ?) was great grandfather of Johann Ludwig Bach (1677 – 1731), who in turn was JS Bach’s cousin. JS Bach performed some cantatas of Johann Ludwig’s at Leipzig. I have enjoyed his cantatas and motets. Listened as well to a suite in G.

Veit’s son Johann(es) [Hans] Bach (1550-1626) had three sons. He was called der Spielman. He was JS Bach’s great-grandfather. Apart from being a musician, he was also a carpet-weaver, and died of plague.

1. Johann(es) [Hans] Bach (1604-1673)
2. Christoph Bach (1613-1661)
3. Heinrich Bach (1615-1692)

First of them - Johann(es) [Hans] Bach (1604-73) had 3 sons. He was an organist in Prediger-Kirche in Erfurt.

1Johann Christian Bach (1640-1682) – was educated in Erfurt and settled in Eisenach. Had 2 sons musicians:

1. Johann Jacob Bach (1668-1692) – joined Johann Ambrosius in Eisenach.
2. Johann Christoph Bach (1673-1727) – became Cantor and Organist at Unter-Zimmern. In 1698 moved to Gehren as Cantor.

2Johann Aegidius Bach (1645-1713) – was director of the town musicians in Erfurt and the organist in the church of St. Michael. He had two sons musicians.

1. Johann Bernhard Bach (1676-1749). He was a second cousin of J. S. Bach. He was born in Erfurt. He took up a position of organist in Erfurt in 1695, and then took a similar position in Magdeburg. He replaced Johann Christoph Bach as organist in Eisenach in 1703. Amongst his surviving music there are four orchestral suites. It is known that J.S. Bach had individual parts prepared for performance by his orchestra.
2. Johann Christoph Bach (1685-1740)

Johann Nicolaus Bach (1653-1682) was town musician and died of the plague.

The second one - Christoph Bach(1613-1661) had 3 sons and was JS Bach grandfather. He was in service at the Court of Weimar. In 1640 he moved to Prettin in Saxony, and eventually to Arnstadt as a court and town musician.

Georg Christoph Bach (1642-1697) – the founder of the Franconian branch of the Bachs. He was a composer too, but no works have been found.

2Johann Ambrosius Bach (1645-1695) had 4 sons musicians. He was town-musician in Eisenach and father of great J.S. Bach. Married in 1668. Played alto viola.

a.          Johann Christoph Bach (1671-1721) had 5 sons. In 1686 he was moved to Erfurt to be instructed for three years by Johann Pachelbel. In 1690 he was appointed organist of the principal church in Ohrdruf. He married in 1694.

                                                                                             i.         Tobias Friedrich Bach (1695-1758)

                                                                                          ii.         Johann Bernhard Bach (the younger) (1700-1743) - he followed his father in the post of organist at St. Michael in Ohrdruf.

                                                                                       iii.         Johann Christoph Bach (1700-1756)

                                                                                        iv.         Johann Heinrich Bach (1707-1783)

                                                                                           v.         Johann Andreas Bach (1713-1779)

b.         Johann Balthasar Bach (1673-1691)

c.          Johann Jacob Bach (1682-1722)

d.         Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

1.          Wilhelm Friedemann Bach [45] (1710-1784)

2.         Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach [46] (1714-1788)

3.          Johann Gottfried Bernhard Bach (1715-1739)

4.         Gottfried Heinrich Bach [48] (1724-1763)

5.          Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (1732-1795)

6.         Johann Christian Bach [50] (1735-1782)

3.          Johann Christoph Bach (1645-1693). Twin of Johann Ambrosius Bach. Married late – in 1679. Was working as musician in Arnstadt.

The third son of Johann(es) [Hans] Bach (1550-1626) - Heinrich Bach (1615-1692) was an organist in Arnstadt. He inherited his father’s character, and his gay and innocently jovial nature. He had 3 sons musicians:

1.          Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703) – In 1665 was appointed to be Organist to the church in Eisenach and worked there till his death. He was considered as second on J.S. Bach in Bach family. He was succeeded by Bernhard Bach. I have listened to his 3 symphonies: WI20, WI10 and WI6. He has been considered a master in concerted choral music. I have listened to his motets.
He had 4 sons musicians.

a.          Johann Nicolaus Bach (1669-1753) – was an Organist to the Town and University of Jena. Visited Italy. Composed Missa Brevis (two parts only – Kyrie and Gloria). Listened with pleasure. He was also composed an operetta about two freshman students in Jena.

b.         Johann Christoph Bach (1676-?) – became a music teacher.

c.          Johann Friedrich Bach (c1682-1730) – worked as an Organist in Muhlhausen and shown inordinate love of drink.

d.         Johann Michael Bach (1685-?) – became an organ builder.

2.         Johann Michael Bach (1648-1694) – took position of organist at Gehren, near Arnstadt. Married Katharina Wedemann. Their youngest daughter married J.S. Bach. Listened to some of his cantatas. One of them “Ach, bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ” is discussed in the book.

3.          Johann Günther Bach (1653-1683) – appointed a permanent deputy of his father in 1682.

Johann Sebastian Bach early life

Born in Eisenach on 31^st of March 1685 (as per new Gregorian calendar). Lost his mother in 1694.and his father in 1695. J.S moved to live with his brother: Johann Christoph Bach in Ohrdruf. In 1700 Bach was enrolled in the prestigious St. Michael's School in Lüneburg. He spent there two years. The latest discovery in 2005 indicates that he lived there as well in Georg Bohm’s house. After that was offered a job at Weimar court as violinist. A few months later he became an organist in the New Church in Arnstadt.

After a few years, some tension built up due to Bach’s unauthorised several months absence, when he went on foot 450 km to Lubeck to visit the great organist and composer Dietrich Buxtehude. He was to be away for four weeks only and extended his absence to sixteen instead.

In 1706, Bach applied for a post as organist at the St. Blasius Church in Mühlhausen. He was accepted and married Maria Barbara Bach, his second cousin, a few months later. During his stay there he organised renovation of the organ.

Considered to be his first cantata - Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (BWV 150) was composed in 1707 or 1708. It is unique among Bach's cantatas in its sparse orchestration and in the independence and prominence of the chorus, which is featured in four out of seven movements.

In 1708 Bach wrote Gott ist mein König, a festive cantata for the inauguration of the new Council (BWV 71). I found it very beautiful, especially considering his young age at the time of its writing. Soon after he composed the cantata BWV 196 for wedding of the pastor (who had married him with Maria Barbara) with his wife’s aunt.

One of the early cantatas is also Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (God's time is the very best time), (BWV 106), also known as Actus tragicus, composed in Mühlhausen, and intended for a funeral. The first movement is especially exceptional.

Bach at Weimar

In 1708, Bach left Mühlhausen, returning to Weimar this time as organist and from 1714 Konzertmeister at the ducal court. From 1714 to 1717 Bach was commissioned to compose one church cantata a month and he managed to cover most occasions of the liturgical year. I have examined the following cantatas:

1Himmelskönig, sei willkommen, BWV 182 (performed on Palm Sunday 25 March 1714), in 8 parts.

JJubilate (third Sunday after Easter): Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12 (22 April 1714), in 7 parts. Its opening chorus uses descending tetrachord which is similar to Dido’s lament of Purcell.

3Pentecost: Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! BWV 172 (Weimar version in C major: 20 May 1714)

4Siehe zu, daß deine Gottesfurcht nicht Heuchelei sei, (See to it, that your fear of God be not hypocrisy), (BWV 179), was composed it in Leipzig for the eleventh Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 8 August 1723.

5Third Sunday after Trinity: Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21 (C minor, Weimar: 17 June 1714; D minor, Köthen/Hamburg: 1720). It includes a dialogue between a soul in distress and Jesus. Very beautiful.

6Oculi (Third Sunday of Lent): Widerstehe doch der Sünde, BWV 54 (4 March 1714?), in 3 parts only. It contains very rhythmic first aria sung by counter-tenor. It’s about resisting sin.

711th Sunday after Trinity: Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, BWV 199 (12 August 1714: Weimar version in C minor; restaged in Köthen in a version in D minor), in 8 movements on one soprano voice.

8First Sunday of Advent: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61 (2 December 1714)

9Christmas Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63 (25 December 1714), in 7 parts, has a festive character

1Sunday after Christmas: Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn, BWV 152 (30 December 1714)

1Sexagesima (Second Sunday before Lent): Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV 18 (early version in G minor, Chorton: 24 February 1715) in 5 parts, with the first instrumental piece representing falling rain – quite interesting.
  Easter: Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret, BWV 31 (Weimar version: 21 April 1715)
Trinity: O heilges Geist- und Wasserbad, BWV 165 (16 June 1715)
Fourth Sunday after Trinity: Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe, BWV 185 (14 July 1715). It’s about heart and being good to others.
20th Sunday after Trinity: Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe, BWV 162 (25 October 1716 or possibly 3 November 1715)
23rd Sunday after Trinity: Nur jedem das Seine, BWV 163 (24 November 1715)
Fourth Sunday of Advent: Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn, BWV 132 (22 December 1715)
Second Sunday after Epiphany: Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange? BWV 155 (19 January 1716). The second part “Du musst glauben, du musst hoffen”, sung by tenor and alto is worth remembering.
16th Sunday after Trinity: Komm, du süße Todesstunde, BWV 161 (6 October 1715 or 27 September 1716)
Most likely between 1706 and 1710 Bach composed his 7 toccatas (BWV 910, 911, 912, 913, 914, 915 and 916). In the second volume Spitta draws attention to two of them (BWV 910 and 911). I found all of them revelatory, especially when performed by Glenn Gould.

In 1717 Sebastian went to Dresden to meet some of the musicians there, including Zelenka. He also met there highly regarded French clavier and organ-player, Jean Louis Marchand. Bach was urged by his friend to challenge Marchand to a competitive performance. Marchand accepted but on the day of the challenge left Dresden in the morning. Bach’s fame was greatly enhanced.

Following death of Weimar’s Kapellmeister Johan Samuel Drese, Sebastian expected to take up his position. Instead it was offered to Telemann, and when nothing came of this, to Drese’s son. In the meantime, Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen, hired Bach to serve as his Kapellmeister (director of music) in 1717 and Bach let Weimar for Köthen.