Chapter XI: Part 11

Johann Sebastian Bach was born about one month later than Handel, in the year 1685. Reckoning from the day of his baptism, originally asserted to have been the 23d of March, we may assume his birthday to have fallen on the 21st of March, O. S., a date corresponding to the 31st of that month according to our present calendar. At the early age of ten, both parents had been taken away by death, and it is probable that only two of his brothers still survived. These were Johann Jakob, who was then serving his musical apprenticeship, with a view to succeeding his father, and Johann Christoph. The latter was already able to earn his own living in the capacity of organist at Ohrdruf, a town in the vicinity of Gotha, and took the little Sebastian under his personal charge, thus separating him for years from the beautiful surroundings of his early home. The necessary stimulus for developing the boy's talent was readily supplied by the musical traditions of the family. His father, though best known as a violinist, is reputed to have been a thoroughly educated musician, and it is also certain that the influence exercised upon him by his great-uncle, the Eisenach organist, was very strong. As was the case in all places belonging to the protestant confession, where there was no royal court, and no Italian singers were at hand, the principal opportunity for the study of vocal music in Ohrdruf was afforded by the _Schülerchor_, or pupil-choir. The youthful Bach possessed a very beautiful soprano voice, and he assuredly belonged to this choir, then composed of forty members, who, following an ancient custom, were in the habit of marching through the town on certain appointed days, singing and collecting money on the way.

Johann Christoph, the elder brother, was Sebastian's senior by fourteen years. In 1686, he had been sent by his father to Erfurt, in order to enjoy the instruction of Johann Pachelbel, one of the most eminent organ composers of his time. Three years later he betook himself to Arnstadt, where he discharged a portion of the duties belonging to the position of his venerable great-uncle, Heinrich Bach. After the year 1690, he resided in Ohrdruf, in which village he died in 1721. It was soon evident that a higher order of ability than he could boast was required for the proper unfolding of the youthful Sebastian's genius. The jealousy of Johann Christoph was moreover excited by the fact that he saw himself in danger of being cast in the shade by his younger brother, and notwithstanding the burning desire of the boy to obtain them, he withheld from him a collection of organ compositions by the most famous masters, copied by himself. Sebastian thereupon managed to get possession of the manuscripts, which he copied by moonlight--at least, so it is related. In addition to the instruction received at home, he attended the gymnasium in Ohrdruf. At Easter (1700) he left his brother's house and made his way to Lüneburg, accompanied by a friend, Georg Erdmann by name, with whom he continued to hold relations in after years. Both were entered as matins scholars at St. Michael's School in Lüneburg. This institution was especially devoted to the cultivation of music and attracted to itself the youthful talent of Thuringia. Bach was at first enrolled among the discantists, but soon manifested a capacity for so many branches of the musical art that the remuneration received for his services enabled him to remain in the school even after the loss of his soprano voice. Before leaving Lüneburg, in the spring of 1703, he is said to have passed successfully through every class, and to have improved to the utmost every opportunity afforded him, even acquiring some proficiency in the French language, a branch of instruction not yet generally introduced into the German schools. All the more credit is due him for this, because the musical duties of the pupils were manifold and often rendered it impossible for them to pursue, with regularity, any literary or scientific course of study. But Bach was not merely endowed with unusual intellectual gifts; he devoted himself with unflagging perseverance to the accomplishment of his ends.

From a photograph by G. Jagemann.]

In the seventeenth century, Lüneburg occupied a prominent position in North Germany as a center of cultivation for church music, and in this connection St. Michael's Cloister, with its school, deserves no small degree of praise. It was here the custom to celebrate the eighteen festival days of the church in each year by rendering, with full orchestral accompaniment, the music adapted to the several occasions. If we count with these performances the others which were often given by especial command, they would reach at least an annual aggregate of from thirty-four to forty. On all intervening Sundays a motet was sung, if nothing more. The abundant resources of the cloister had provided a choice collection of musical works, both printed and in manuscript, among which were to be found compositions by Heinrich and the great Johann Christoph Bach, so that the fame of his family had preceded the young Sebastian. A native of Eisenach, Johann Jakob Löw, a pupil of Heinrich Schütz, was, moreover, acting as organist in the Church of St. Nicholas, at Lüneburg. Bach probably made the acquaintance of this countryman of his, who, however, was a man advanced in years, and perhaps no longer able to interest himself in the newer methods of the youthful genius. But there was another Thuringian at work in Lüneburg, upon whom nature had bestowed an original creative mind, and who was then in the prime of life. This was Georg Böhm, at that time organist of St. John's Church, and previously a resident of Hamburg, where he became interested in the Northern school of organ music. The names of the many superior artists belonging to this school have only recently been rescued from oblivion. Their chief claim to distinction does not rest upon what they were able to accomplish in the line of compositions for the organ, or their skill as performers; it is mainly based upon their influence in the development of the _suite_, which may be defined as a secular instrumental form. Some of the most eminent of these artists were Johann Adam Reinken and Vincentius Lübeck in Hamburg, Dietrich Buxtehude in Lübeck, and Nikolaus Bruhns in Husum. Böhm had studied with great interest the peculiarities of this school and showed himself able to combine with them such knowledge of musical forms as he had managed to acquire in his Thuringian home. At the same time, he did not remain insensible to the piquant charm of the French school of pianoforte music, which rose into prominence at the end of the seventeenth century. He had himself made successful attempts at clavier music, and something of the French manner had crept into his organ compositions. It was easy to account for this, since he lived in the neighborhood of the town of Celle, where clavier music was actively cultivated. At this time Duke Georg Wilhelm of Lüneburg-Celle, the last descendant of the royal line of Guelph princes, was a resident of the place and had provided for the exclusive adoption of French music in all the services conducted in the royal chapel. From these elements the highly gifted Böhm formed his extremely characteristic style, and produced such an impression upon Bach that he wrote a number of still-existing organ compositions, which might easily be mistaken for the work of the older master. And not only this; he went directly to the sources from which Böhm had drawn, making repeated pedestrian journeys to Hamburg and Celle, where he acquired fresh artistic impressions, which he turned over and over in his mind with unceasing energy.

After the brief course in the elements of music which had been given him by his brother, Bach had, properly speaking, no second instructor, nor did he require one. Herein is plainly seen the inestimable boon conferred upon him by his ancestors, who had so definitely pre-determined the sphere of his activity that any departure therefrom would have been scarcely possible. But there must also be taken into account his own great executive power, and the untiring industry with which he not only developed his technical skill as clavier, organ and violin player, but also continued to perfect himself in the art of composition. We learn from his son that he often worked through the whole night in order to satisfy his ardent desire for knowledge.

At Easter, 1703, Bach left St. Michael's in order to devote himself entirely to the profession of music. Had his means permitted, he would probably have been glad to enter a university, as was then customary with rising musicians, and as many of his cousins had done before him. But he was poor and obliged to earn his bread. Returning to Thuringia, he obtained a situation as organist at the ducal Saxon Court of Weimar, where, however, he only remained a few months. An organ had recently been added to the New Church at Arnstadt, and just at this time the instrument was completed. Notwithstanding his youth, Bach must have already acquired great fame as an organ player, for he was summoned to try the instrument and to play upon it on the occasion of its first employment in a church service. This happened in July, 1703. His performance seems to have made a profound impression on the citizens of the place and advantageous offers were made with a view to securing his services as organist for the New Church. He decided to accept them, severed his connection with Weimar, and entered upon his new duties on the 14th of August. It was thus that the boy of eighteen now became an inhabitant of the little town so especially endeared to him through long family tradition. In order to convey an idea of the style of living in which artists like himself were able to indulge at that time, let it be here recorded that his yearly salary amounted to about fifty-seven dollars. This sum was so much more than sufficient for his needs, that after a few years he not only had money enough to spare for a journey of some length, but was also able to render aid to an indigent cousin. The outside obligations imposed by his position were very few. He played the organ three times a week and gave instruction in singing to a small pupil-choir, but here his labors as a teacher ended. The New Church did not rank as the first in Arnstadt, that position being maintained by the Franciscan Church, where the principal choir of singers rendered the music for which Bach's pupils were in process of preparation. The town was then the residence of Count Anton Günther, of Schwarzburg, a man who interested himself in music in many ways, and supported a small chapel, to which he gave as leader an important musician, Adam Drese. For the court performances it was customary to demand the aid of every inhabitant of the region who possessed any skill as instrumentalist or singer, and it is quite possible that Bach's services also may have been called into requisition. Here, in any case, he found ample leisure for continuing his studies. The only artists in the place were men of mediocre ability who could teach him nothing; but he had brought with him from Lüneburg a rich experience, together with a full supply of musical works, forming a treasure-house from which he was able to draw for two whole years. A portion of his own compositions for the clavier and organ, belonging to this period, are of the highest importance. In the year 1704, he completed a work for the clavier, which possesses a biographical interest from its connection with his brother, Johann Jakob. The latter had enlisted as oboist for the body-guard of his Swedish majesty, Charles XII., made the Russian campaign in the king's service, and, after the battle of Pultawa, accompanied him to Bender. From this point he afterwards went, by way of Constantinople, to Stockholm, where he died in 1722, probably in consequence of his superhuman exertions during the campaign. On his departure from home, Sebastian composed a "_Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettisimo_," which is also known under its somewhat more familiar German title: "Capriccio auf die Abreise eines Freundes." It is divided into five parts, with explanatory programme, as follows: I., "Persuasion of the friends, endeavoring to deter him (the brother) from undertaking the journey"; II., "Various casualties which might befall him in foreign lands"; III., "A general lamentation by his friends"; IV., "The friends, because they see it cannot be otherwise, come to take leave"; V., "The Postillion's Aria." At the end is a long fugue, the theme of which is the call of the post-horn. The whole work shows decided skill in composition and marked originality.

_Drawing by Sidney L. Smith, after the monument in Eisenach, by A. Donndorf._]

In the autumn of 1705, Bach determined to give the finishing touch to his musical culture by studying for a short time with Dietrich Buxtehude in Lübeck. Buxtehude was a Dane, born in 1638 at Helsingförs, on the island of Seeland, and consequently an old man at that time. Towards the middle of the seventeenth century, he came to Lübeck and became organist of Saint Mary's Church. The position was one of the finest in Germany, not only on account of the very considerable income it afforded, but also because of its magnificent organ and the favorable musical conditions prevailing in the place. Buxtehude is to be regarded as the founder of the "_Abendmusiken_," musical performances on a grand scale, which took place in the church, between four and five o'clock in the afternoon, on the five Sundays preceding Christmas. On these occasions he distinguished himself as an organ virtuoso and often presented his own vocal compositions. Bach had formed his travelling plans with direct reference to spending the period of the Abendmusiken in Lübeck. Towards the end of October, he asked for a few weeks' leave of absence, and undertook, with the help of the money saved from his salary, to make the long journey of fifty German miles on foot. Arrived in Lübeck, there is no doubt that he at once entered into close personal relations with Buxtehude. So completely, indeed, did he fall under the spell of the artist, that he forgot all the duties of his office and trebled his leave of absence, returning to Arnstadt on the 21st of February. Perhaps it lay only with himself to decide upon settling permanently in Lübeck. It was often the case with regard to the positions of organist, cantor and the like, that the sons-in-law of the incumbents, in wooing their wives, had at the same time sued for the office of the father. Buxtehude had himself pursued this course, and, as his children were all daughters, he wished to see the husband of the oldest in the person of his successor. In the year 1703, Handel, who had then just come to Hamburg, paid a visit to Buxtehude. He had probably wished to ascertain whether the place was a desirable one for himself, since it was evident that the venerable artist had not long to live. But the marriage which was made a condition of the contract presented too few allurements. Bach may have held the same opinion, or else, as is more likely, he was already bound to his native province by ties of strong affection.

The church Consistory in charge of Bach's position were justly indignant at his unduly protracted absence and called him to account. After his extremely promising beginning, people had grown more and more dissatisfied with the manner in which he discharged his duties as organist. He was reproached with making his accompaniment for the congregational singing so intricate and irregular that the singers often completely lost the melody. Moreover, he at first made his preludes immoderately long, and, when given a hint of this by the officiating clergyman, he immediately fell into the opposite extreme, and cut them much too short. It was also said that he had neglected the training of his pupil-choir and was unable to exercise proper control over the same. These complaints were certainly not unfounded; they accord with Bach's artistic development and with his character. When he sat before the organ, inspired by musical thoughts in rich profusion, he could not have been the genius that he was, if he did not sometimes forget that he must adapt himself to the comprehension of the congregation and the arrangement of the service. That, after the exhortation to restraint, he at once offered preludes of the most striking brevity, is an instance of that defiant spirit which was one of his strongly marked characteristics. The pupil-choir, after a time, began to seem insignificant in his eyes, and the exercises with them monotonous. Considering his youth and the irritability of his temperament, it is not surprising that he failed to retain the respect of this band of untrained youths. Notwithstanding their reproaches, the members of the Consistory showed themselves, on the whole, sufficiently lenient, and allowed nearly a year to pass before making further remonstrances, though he continued, in the interval, to act as he pleased. Bach was no longer contented in Arnstadt, where, after all, though perfectly capable of standing in the first rank, he filled a position of secondary importance. It is credibly related, that favorable offers were made him at this time, from many different places, and on the 29th of June, 1707, he resigned his office in Arnstadt to accept an appointment as organist at Mühlhausen, in Thuringia.

The Bachs, as a family, were accustomed to marry early in life. Among the criticisms upon Sebastian's conduct made by the clergy of Arnstadt, there was one to the effect that he had accompanied upon his organ, the singing of a "strange maiden." This, however, could not well have happened during the service, as female singers in that day were still excluded from church music. The "maiden" was probably his cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, daughter of Michael Bach, who might have been betrothed to him at that time, since he married her on the 17th of October, 1707. Four of the seven children of this marriage, three sons and a daughter, reached maturity, and two of these sons, Wilhelm Friedemann, and Carl Philipp Emanuel, born in 1710 and 1714 respectively, are well known to have attained great musical renown.

In Mühlhausen there were two principal churches, the Blasius and the Church of St Mary. The former, to which Bach was attached, took the highest rank, its organist constituting the chief musical dignitary of the city, and a certain additional lustre was shed upon the position, through the fact that it had been filled by a number of brilliant musicians. Among these were Joachim Moller, styled von Burck (1541-1610), Johann Rudolf Ahle (1625-1673) and Johann Georg Ahle (1673-1706). The prominent composer, Johann Eccard, a contemporary and friend of Moller, was also a native of Mühlhausen. Bach recognized the honor conferred upon him by the call, and it spurred him on to more important achievements. In addition to his unwearied efforts to advance himself in the line of his special branch of art, he zealously strove to elevate the standard of vocal music in the churches of Mühlhausen, and procured at his own expense a fine collection of the best church music, which was produced by him from time to time. He caused the organ of the Blasiuskirche to be repaired after a plan of his own, which bore witness to his great practical knowledge, and also attached to it a _Glockenspiel_, or peal of bells. He moreover composed several great pieces of church music for chorus, solo voices, organ and other instruments. One of these was performed on the 4th of February, 1708, at the time of the so-called Changing of the Council, an annual ceremony which consisted in transferring the administration of one of the three branches of the municipal government to another. A second beautiful work of the same order was founded on the words of the 130th psalm. But from various causes Bach soon found his activity held in check. His grand and lofty compositions, which surprised by their novelty, presented a striking contrast to the light and pleasing style of the later Mühlhausen masters. The inhabitants of the free and ancient imperial city were possessed of a strongly developed local pride, extending far beyond its proper limits. Affecting superiority, they were disposed to hold themselves aloof from strangers, and that a youth of twenty-two, treading in the footsteps of their once highly respected fellow-citizens, should manifest such independence and love of innovation, aroused their antagonism. These difficulties, however, were not insuperable; Bach, on his side, was not wanting in friends, and the Council gave abundant proof of its good-will. But other and more radical differences existed, which could not be so easily put aside. Philipp Jakob Spener had recently started a movement in the Lutheran Church, which, after the publication of his book, entitled "Pia Desideria," received the name of pietism, and this movement had spread to Mühlhausen. The first clergyman of the town and leading preacher at the Blasiuskirche, J. A. Frohne, was an ardent advocate of the principles and measures of Spener, which owed their origin to the unsatisfactory status of the Lutheran clergy. This body adhered obstinately to the forms which Luther had given it, while departing all too widely from the spirit of the Protestant reformer. The pietism of Spener, in the first decades of its existence, had brought abundant blessing into the domain of spiritual and intellectual life, while his opponents, who were styled orthodox, presented a sad picture of moral torpor and arrogant narrow-mindedness. Unfortunately, the pietists became by degrees very strongly tinctured with asceticism, which had the effect of lessening their influence upon the popular heart, and rendering impossible the genuine success of their cause. As a class, they conceived of the earthly life only in the light of a contrast to the heavenly one, which they dreamed of leading in a state of blessed communion with God. Everything which did not directly promote this rapt, contemplative condition they felt bound to reject, and in this way soon became hostile to the arts, which the orthodox highly valued and encouraged, after the example of Luther. Music seemed to the pietists seductive, unless made to serve an edificatory purpose, and even then it could be employed only for the accentuation of simple religious songs. These, at any rate, were the views which Frohne now sought to establish; it was only natural that Bach, whose genius was just beginning to spread its mighty wings, whose highest aim was to introduce a lofty type of ecclesiastical music, embracing everything the age had produced in the shape of artistic forms and devices, should lift up his voice in protest at such a time. If ever in his life he had been characterized by a yielding and pliant disposition, it was not to be expected that he should manifest it now, when his life-work was in question. We must therefore regard it as the voice of destiny which, after the lapse of a single year, called him to fill the post of organist at the ducal court of Weimar, one of the places he had formerly visited in making a concert tour. He did not hesitate to obey the call, though realizing to the full the extent of his obligation to the friendly and appreciative Council of the city of Mühlhausen. These men were well aware of the magnitude of their loss and consented most unwillingly to his release, after imposing the condition that he should continue to superintend from Weimar the organ repairs which he had commenced.

From a painting of an ideal scene.]

Among the most remarkable of the false impressions which have prevailed concerning Bach's personality, must be accounted the idea that he was himself a pietist. Attempts have been made to prove this on the one hand from the nature of the poems composed by him, on the other, from the character of his music. And indeed, it is not difficult to discover in many of the poetical texts which he wrote for his own church music, the pietistic forms of expression. But since these forms, notwithstanding a certain bombastic quality, a rapturous, exaggerated sentiment and an exuberant tenderness, still strike a note of genuine poetry, they were habitually employed by all writers of that day.

Not a single pietist, however, was included in the number of the poets who wrote for Bach. One of these, Erdmann Neumeister, was, on the contrary, a zealous champion of orthodoxy. And concerning the sympathy between Bach's music and pietism, it must also be said here that nothing beyond a certain analogy exists. A strong intensity of feeling is common to both, and the profound intelligence exhibited by the musician in following the most hidden meanings of his text, resembles the fervid devotion with which the pietists were wont to read the Bible. Moreover, the lofty idealism which inspired his artistic creations, causing him to regard everything _sub specie aeterni_, as it were, corresponds in a certain way to the unworldly spirit of the apostles of Spener, who, lost in ecstasy, directed their gaze towards the pictured glories of the heavenly sphere. But, while these pious souls gave themselves up unreservedly to this sort of subjective fanaticism, with Bach the personal feeling is always controlled by the utmost conceivable severity of the musical form. The pietists renounced the world and the forces at work in it; Bach founded his activity upon what had been created before him in his art, and rejoiced, after the manner of his ancestors, in a hearty enjoyment of the world and its beauty. It is not merely because pietism interfered with the free exercise of his art that Bach refused it his support, but rather because this particular religious bent was distasteful to him in every way. The old Lutheran form of Protestantism was an inheritance of his race, and his education had been carried on in places where orthodoxy flourished. In Arnstadt it had victoriously trampled under foot, before his coming, some feeble germs of pietism, which of itself is almost sufficient reason for the attitude of quiet hostility towards Spener, assumed by him from the beginning. The second clergyman of the town, Georg Christian Eilmar, was an orthodox of the strictest kind, and soon after his installation had fallen into a violent controversy with Frohne, which lasted for years and was still in progress when Bach came to Mühlhausen. The musician espoused Eilmar's cause with ardor and did not hesitate to express his opinions publicly, thus affording another manifestation of the spirit of obstinate defiance which formed one of his fundamental traits. For it was impossible that he should be attracted by a prosaic, arrogant, and thoroughly unpleasing personality like that of Eilmar, neither was he in any wise a fanatical partisan of orthodoxy. He held firmly to the belief of his fathers, but to inquire into the principles of their faith was an idea that never occurred to him. Whatever needs his religion may have failed to satisfy were more than filled by his art and the conscientious manner in which he exercised it.

For the next nine years of his life Bach was established in Weimar as court organist and chamber musician; after 1714 he also officiated as concert-master of the ducal chapel and performed some of the duties of capellmeister. Everything that had been lacking in Mühlhausen, he found here at the court of Duke Wilhelm Ernst, a man whose strongly marked personal character was reflected upon his surroundings, imparting to them something of the genial Thuringian spirit. Differing from most of his compeers in possessing a lively sense of his obligations as a ruler, he failed to cherish the delusion that his subjects only existed for the convenience of the reigning class. He was of an earnest nature, this great-grand-uncle of Goethe's friend Karl August, and lived without ostentation, almost as simply indeed as an ordinary citizen, in his castle of Wilhelmsburg. Without children and separated from his wife after a brief, unhappy union, all his interests were centred in the welfare of the little province; above all, he occupied himself with church and school affairs. Even as a child, he had displayed the strong theological bias which always distinguished him, and had afterwards studied for three years at the University of Jena. His favorite associates were members of the clerical profession, and in order to provide for the spiritual needs of the town of Weimar, which numbered at that time about 5,000 inhabitants, he increased the number of preachers, in whose conferences and theological discussions he took an active part. Orthodox in belief, he hated and prohibited all sectarian controversy, and without diminishing his zeal for the elevation of ecclesiastical standards and the broadening of church organization, he extended a protecting care over the arts and sciences. Weimar owes to him not only its gymnasium, but also the foundation of its library, at present so justly renowned. He took pains to support an excellent music chapel and even tolerated an opera at his court. Chamber music was by no means neglected, but the strongest interest manifested by the duke was in ecclesiastical matters, and during his long reign of forty-five years (1683-1728), his persevering efforts to awaken in the court and the citizens of the town an interest in the works of a great composer of sacred music were crowned with deserved success.

No musicians of eminence were to be found in the Weimar of that day. The aged capellmeister, Johann Samuel Drese, was in feeble health, making it necessary for Bach to relieve him of a portion of his work. Johann Gottfried Walther of Erfurt, who was related to Bach on his mother's side, filled the place of organist in the town-church and soon formed an intimate friendship with his kinsman. Walther's name has continued to be held in esteem up to the present time through his musical lexicon, which was published in Leipsic in 1732 and is a valuable reference book for students of scientific music. But only the spare moments of its industrious author were devoted to the preparation of this work. In addition to his duties as organist, he was active as a composer and also gave instruction in music, his services as teacher being greatly in demand. His strength lies chiefly in the domain of organ music, where he has successfully followed in the footsteps of Johann Pachelbel. In this connection should be mentioned an artist from a neighboring state, who, however, was often seen in Weimar, and who found a degree of pleasure in Bach's society which the latter fully reciprocated. Georg Philipp Telemann, one of the most skilful musicians of his age, enjoyed at that time a greater celebrity than Bach, and steadily maintained to the end of his life the reputation of a high musical authority. His style is wanting in depth and earnestness, but he was one of the most prolific writers the world has seen, showing an incredible activity in every species of composition, so that in the end he was himself unable to say precisely what or how much had proceeded from his pen.

Bach did not restrict his acquaintance to the narrow limits of his immediate surroundings, but was in the habit of undertaking frequent journeys with the view of spreading his fame as organ virtuoso and composer. On one occasion before the end of the year 1714, he went to Cassel for the purpose of testing an organ which had been newly restored. Prince Frederick, son of the reigning duke and afterwards King of Sweden, summoned him to play in his presence and was enchanted by the unheard-of virtuosity of his pedal-playing. In the autumn of 1713, he passed some time in Halle, on his return from a professional tour, and very possibly attracted by a fine new organ, erected by Christoph Cuncius in the Church of the Holy Virgin. The post of organist at this church having been vacant for a year, it seems to have been suggested that Bach should make application for the place. The proposal must at first have been a tempting one, since the organ furnished him in Weimar was very inferior, containing in all only two manuals and twenty-four stops, while that in Halle had sixty-three sounding stops. He soon expressed his willingness to accept the appointment, and prolonged his stay sufficiently to enable him to compose the cantata required of all candidates and to conduct the performance of the same. The church elders were now very anxious to secure his services, but Bach left the place without awaiting their decision. There were many drawbacks connected with the position, and the thought of his friend and patron the duke caused him to waver. When, therefore, the formal "call" was sent to him before Christmas, in the shape of a regularly attested document, just as though the matter had already been settled between them, Bach expressed his wish to discuss the matter further before deciding. The authorities took offence at this, and, quite without reason, practically accused him of only pretending to treat with them, in order to obtain an increase of salary from the duke. The sole attraction for Bach in Halle was undoubtedly its beautiful organ. Up to this time he had been using instruments of small or medium size, and indeed, throughout his long career, an organ adequate to the genius of this greatest master in the world was never placed at his command. Meantime the bold and arrogant manner in which he was accused of evading his promise could not fail to be resented with indignation by a man like Bach. He returned a very sharp letter of protest, which plainly showed the church authorities that they had made a mistake. Realizing later their want of tact, they sought to make amends by inviting him to attend the trial performance on the new organ, and Bach accepted the invitation.

In the course of a third journey known to have been made by Bach in the autumn of 1714, he paid his first visit to Leipsic, the city in which he was to spend the last twenty-seven years of his life. On the first Sunday after Advent, he furnished all the organ music for the service (conducted, probably, in the Thomas Church), and also produced a cantata of his own composition. We are familiar with this cantata; it is one of the most beautiful belonging to Bach's earlier period, and begins with a chorus, based upon the old Ambrosian hymn, "Come, Saviour of the people" ("_Veni, redemptor gentium_"). Not long afterwards, Bach probably repaired to the ducal court at Meiningen, to which his cousin, Johann Ludwig Bach, was attached as capellmeister. We have no knowledge of any previous communication between the two branches of the family descended from Veit Bach, and there is good ground for assuming that it was Sebastian who made the advances in this instance. Johann Ludwig had an especial gift for the composition of church music. Twenty-two of his cantatas were copied out by Sebastian's own hand, and of still greater importance than these are the motets by the same master, who, if he does not equal Johann Christoph Bach of Eisenach, has yet introduced into German music, with great success, the Italian method so brilliantly exemplified by Leonardo Leo.

Another autumnal journey made by Sebastian Bach had for its goal the Saxon electoral court at Dresden, where occurred one of the most famous and memorable events of his life. He had always maintained the most friendly relations with the German musicians attached to the electoral chapel, who just now felt themselves unjustly thrust into the background, owing to the preference of the court for the French and Italian school of tonal art. It happened that precisely at this time Jean Louis Marchand, an organist from Paris, was visiting in Dresden and delighting the elector and his court by the elegance of his technique. Bach had found as yet no opportunity of appearing before the court, but so greatly distinguished himself in other musical circles as to create an ardent interest in the question whether he or Marchand was the greater artist. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries competitive musical performances were in high favor. Bach, who was thoroughly acquainted with the style of Marchand's playing and the character of his music, consented to challenge the Frenchman to a trial of skill upon the clavier. Marchand accepted and the tournament was arranged to take place, in the presence of a select body of judges, at the house of a personage of high rank; probably the minister, Graf von Flemming. When the appointed hour arrived Bach was on the spot, but Marchand did not appear; in the sure premonition of failure, he had abandoned the field without resistance. Bach now played alone and enchanted his audience. The report of this occurrence was rapidly spread abroad and served to add new lustre to the fame of the master, who now stood forth a victorious champion of German national art, as opposed to the theories and methods of the French.

These various professional journeys and the visit between the years 1715 and 1717 of Georg Erdmann, the friend of his youth, who, after completing his study of the law, had entered the Russian service in 1715, are the most important external events of Bach's stay in Weimar. If we glance at his creative activity during that period, we see that the principal emphasis falls upon his work as organ virtuoso and composer. Duke Wilhelm took great pleasure in his playing, and this incited him to use his utmost efforts in the art of handling his instrument. It was in Weimar that he wrote the larger number of his very numerous organ compositions, and he also made much progress here in the art of vocal composition, besides becoming thoroughly acquainted for the first time with Italian chamber music. The duke's nephew, Prince Johann Ernst, was of a decidedly musical turn, and, with the aid of Walther, had even made attempts at composition. In gratification of his tastes, frequent concerts of chamber music were given at the castle, Bach acting as leader. The violin concerto, which had just been revived in Italy through the efforts of Torelli and Vivaldi, and the violin sonata in the form established by Corelli, were favorite varieties of this sort of music, in which Bach soon developed a strong interest, as is shown by the fact that he arranged for the clavier and the organ about twenty of Vivaldi's concertos. These works are not arrangements in the ordinary sense, but are rather expansions of the original motives. By means of an animated bass, a richly melodious baritone and artistic contrapuntal imitations, Bach converted his material into something at once novel and charming. He also took themes from the violin sonatas of Corelli and Albinoni, while he richly elaborated and fashioned into an organ fugue, the leading motive of a composition by the Venetian Legrenzi. That he entered very heartily into the spirit of the Italian music of the day is evident from his causing a copy to be made for himself of an important production of Frescobaldi, the greatest Italian organ master. This work, entitled "_Fiori Musicali_" appeared in 1635.

From an oil portrait owned by the Bach family until 1828. Now in possession of A. Grenser, of Vienna.]

But the period of Bach's activity in the line of chamber music properly began after he left Weimar in response to an invitation to become capellmeister at the court of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen. It was probably on account of his not having been appointed to the same office in Weimar, after the death of the venerable Samuel Drese, a preferment which he had every reason to expect, that he gave up his post as organist in the town. The love and protection always bestowed by the duke upon old and trusty servants prevailed in this instance over his interest in art, for he allowed Drese's very incompetent son to succeed his father. The Prince of Cöthen was allied to the ducal family of Weimar through the marriage of his sister to the heir apparent of the reigning house, and on the occasion of his visit at the time of the wedding festivities, it is very likely that Bach may have attracted his attention. He was just the man to appreciate the importance of so great a musician. Clear-sighted and enthusiastic, unmarried and still in the spring-time of life, he was endowed with an unbiased judgment and the ability to rule, as well as with an unusual talent for music. He played several instruments, was an excellent bass singer, and Bach said of him in after years that he not only loved music but understood it. And it was precisely chamber music that was almost exclusively cultivated in Cöthen. The province professed the Calvinistic faith and music therefore played an entirely subordinate rôle in ecclesiastical and social life. Bach had no official connection with the church organs in the place. The court never possessed an opera and seems to have been only sparingly provided with singers. Bach's labors were therefore limited to the concerts held at the castle, in which the prince himself took part, and which were especially signalized by the musician's own appearance as performer and composer. There was in Cöthen no opportunity for stepping before the public, and it testifies to the genuineness of Bach's nature and his devotion to instrumental art that he could spend with enjoyment six of the best years of his life in this position, so devoid of all external attraction. During this time he wrote the greater part of his chamber works, including the first part of the "Wohltemperirte Clavier," the "Inventionen und Sinfonien," the sonatas and suites for violin and violoncello without accompaniment, and also with the clavier; finally, the six great concertos dedicated to Margrave Christian of Brandenburg. The prince manifested the warmest attachment for Bach, treated him as a friend in every way, and at last could so little dispense with his society that the two undertook frequent journeys together, in the course of which they twice made a prolonged stay at Carlsbad. Bach meantime did not relinquish his independent professional tours and was often summoned in different directions for the inspection of organs. In December, 1717, he tested the newly-constructed instrument in the Pauliner-Kirche at Leipsic; in 1719 he was once more in Halle and here very narrowly missed meeting Handel, who had travelled thither from London in search of singers for his newly-organized operatic academy and was spending a short time with his relatives before returning. Bach had been informed of this and went to call upon Handel, who, however, had already started on his return journey. Ten years later, he again came to Germany, but Bach was prevented by illness from paying his respects in person and therefore despatched his oldest son with an invitation for Handel to visit him. Although this was declined with an expression of regret, there is little, if any, ground for the assumption that Handel purposely avoided an acquaintanceship with Bach. Yet it may be said in favor of the latter that he always showed a lively interest in Handel's compositions, which was by no means fully reciprocated, and that it was not his fault if the two greatest musicians of their age never saw each other face to face.

In November, 1720, Bach paid a visit to Hamburg, which city, so far as we know, he had not seen since leaving Lüneburg, unless he stopped there on his way from Lübeck in 1706. The celebrated Johann Adam Reinken, almost a centenarian at this time, was still attached to St. Catharine's Church in Hamburg, and Bach very naturally felt a desire to again meet the master with whom he had studied as a boy. An appointment was made for him to play before the assembled magistrates of the city and many other illustrious personages, including Reinken. The venerable artist was greatly moved at Bach's performance (which lasted nearly half an hour) of the choral "By the waters of Babylon," which Reinken himself had long ago arranged for the organ after the manner of the Northern composers. At the close, he went up to Bach and said: "I thought this art was dead, but see that it still lives in you." It is possible that Bach also produced in Hamburg a church cantata of his own composition: "Whoso humbleth himself shall be exalted." A longing for his favorite instrument, of which he had been deprived in Cöthen, was certainly awakened in him by the great number of fine organs here at hand. It chanced that the post of organist at St. Jacob's Church was just then vacant, and a prize competition for the same was to take place on the 28th of November, but Bach was called home by his prince and could not delay so long. He departed on the 23d of November, leaving behind him the assurance that he would gladly accept the place, if offered him. The strongest desire to secure his services was shown by many influential persons, but the church authorities decided in favor of a native of Hamburg, a certain Joachim Heitmann, who, to be sure, was a very insignificant performer, but who had promised to pay into the church treasury a premium of 4000 Hamburg marks, in case of his election. The leading clergyman of the church, Erdmann Neumeister, was so enraged over this affair, that he soon after referred to it in his Christmas sermon, and summed up the expression of his sentiments with the pithy remark that if one of the angels of Bethlehem, divinely gifted as a musician, should desire to become organist at St. Jacob's, but possessed no money, he would be allowed to fly away again.

Not only was Bach awaited in Cöthen by his prince, but family affairs of urgent importance demanded his attention. A heavy loss had befallen him in the summer of this year--his wife had unexpectedly died while he was absent in Carlsbad with the prince. No news of the event had reached him and her remains had long since been committed to the earth when he returned and learned what had happened. In the next year another calamity followed hard upon the first: his oldest brother died at Ohrdruf, and two years later still the second brother, Johann Jakob, ended his eventful career. Sebastian Bach, meantime, was approaching the period of his second marriage, an event which took place in 1721. At the court in Cöthen, there lived a singer named Anna Magdalena Wilke, twenty-one years of age, the daughter of the court trumpeter at Weissenfels. Upon her Bach now fixed his choice, founded a new household with her help, and in their twenty-eight years of wedded life thirteen children were born to them. The unusual talent for music possessed by Anna Magdalena was developed under her husband's direction to such a degree that she was able to participate in his labors, and is known to have written out the different parts of many of his church cantatas. Two books of music still exist which Bach prepared for her, filled with songs and clavier compositions, mostly of his own writing. Judging from these books, he would seem to have composed his so-called "French Suites" especially for her; she must therefore have distinguished herself highly as a performer on the clavier. Notwithstanding the happy turn now given to Bach's life, his position in Cöthen was becoming uncomfortable for him. A week after his wedding the prince was also married. His bride had no taste for music, and therefore the prince's own interest in it was temporarily diminished. Bach could but clearly perceive that ultimately he would not be able to endure existence in Cöthen--the field of his usefulness was here too limited. Through the death of Johann Kuhnau, the position of cantor at St. Thomas' school in Leipsic had recently become vacant. Bach sought and obtained it, entering upon his duties on the 1st of June, 1723. He continued, however, in the service of the prince as capellmeister "von Haus aus," a title given to the incumbent of an office when not required to reside in the town. Bach was only called upon to appear at court occasionally in the capacity of musical conductor and to furnish compositions for extra occasions. Of this character was the festival cantata produced by him on the 2d of July, 1725, in celebration of the prince's second marriage. But his appreciative friend and patron was not destined to enjoy a long life; he died on the 14th of November, 1728. Bach composed for him a magnificent requiem, the performance of which he conducted in person.

Regarded from an external point of view, the change now made by Bach was a step downward, and he himself once wrote to Erdmann that he did not relish the descent at first. But the office of cantor at the Leipsic Thomas-Schule was by no means of the common order. It seldom happens that a position is filled so uninterruptedly by men of the highest importance, who, in many cases, were as eminent in science as in music, thus imparting to their office a twofold distinction. In this instance, the long list of especially famous names begins with Sethus Calvisius. He was followed in 1615 by Johann Hermann Schein, and the latter in 1630 by Tobias Michael. Sebastian Knüpfer succeeded to the office in 1657, Johann Schelle in 1676, Johann Kuhnau in 1701. Kuhnau died in 1722, having come into personal contact with Bach in the years 1714, 1716 and 1717.

The occupations of a cantor were not exclusively musical in character. From time immemorial he had been required to give scientific instruction, the third class in the school being allotted to him, while the conrector assumed the charge of the second class and the rector of the first. The city council of Leipsic, however, was fain to acknowledge that this arrangement was a difficult one to maintain. Capable musicians, as a rule, even if possessed of the requisite knowledge, took no pleasure in scientific teaching, and this was very decidedly the case with Bach. He soon confined himself wholly to the musical duties of his position and the supervision of the alumni, a care which was exercised alternately by the teachers. These alumni, fifty-five in number, who were supported and educated, free of expense, from the surplus funds of the institution, formed the vocal choir of the town. Bach attended to the daily training of these singers and generally officiated as leader at their public concerts. In the two principal churches of the city, the St. Thomas and the St. Nicholas, sacred music with instrumental accompaniment was given every other Sunday and, on great festival days, in both churches together. Exceptions to this custom were made during Lent and at the Advent season, when motets were sung, without accompaniment, and the leadership of these could be entrusted to an especially gifted member of the highest class in school, which was called the "praefectus chori." As the cantor had nothing further to do with the church services beyond conducting the music in the University Church on certain festal occasions and when wedding or funeral music was commanded, it cannot be said that Bach was overburdened with official duties. On the contrary, he was able to devote a considerable amount of time to composition, and made frequent journeys in the interest of his profession.