489
In a shortened form this work appears also as a Sinfonia in F major. See B.G. XXXI. (1) no. 5, and N.B.G. X. (2).
490
Identical with the G minor Clavier Concerto. See B.G. XVII. no. 7, and also B.G. XLV. (1), Appendix, p. 233.
491
Identical with the D major Clavier Concerto. See B.G. XVII. no. 3, and N.B.G. VIII. (1)
492
Identical with the Concerto for two Claviers in C minor. See B.G. XXI. (2) no. 3.
493
The movement is described as being from “einer unbekannten Kirchencantate” for four voices and Orchestra. The Autograph is incomplete. The movement is not published elsewhere than in the B.G. edition.
494
Identical with the Concerto for 2 Violins, in D minor. See B.G. XXI. (1) no. 3. Also pp. 131, 158, 160, supra.
495
Also in N.B.G. XVII. (1 and 2).
496
For an exposition of Bach’s design in the “Orgelbüchlein,” see the present writer’s articles in “The Musical Times” for JanuaryMarch 1917, and “Bach’s Chorals,” Part III. See N.B.G. II. (1) for an arrangement of the Preludes for two pianofortes.
497
See B.G. XLII. for a Clavier version.
498
See B.G. XLII. for a Clavier version.
499
Boosey and Co. also publish an English edition.
500
This is a shortened form of the first Brandenberg Concerto (see B.G. XIX. no. 1). It consists of the Allegro, Adagio, Minuet, Trio I. and Trio II. of the latter, and omits its second Allegro and Polacca.
501
The Appendix contains Joh. Philipp Kernberger’s solutions of the Canons and his expansion of the figured bass of the Clavier part of the Sonata.
502
See publications of the N.B.G. XIV. (2) no. 2.
503
See publications of the N.B.G. XIV. (2) no. 2.
504
Text and music are identical with the version in B.G. XX. (2).
505
Another Allemande to the Suite is in B.G. XXXVI. 217 (also in P.).
506
The subject of the Fughetta is the same as that of Fugue No. 17 in the second part of the “Well-tempered Clavier.”
507
The Prelude is No. 11 in Peters (B.G. xxxvi. 220). The Fughetta is his No. 10. It is the same subject an that of Fugue 16 in the second part of the “Well-tempered Clavier.” An alternative Prelude (P. 214 p. 78) is in the Appendix (p. 220).
508
They are described as “zur vierten französischen Suite.” The Prelude is in P. bk. 1959 p. 67.
509
Written respectively for the second and third French Suites (not in P.).
510
A fingered exercise.
511
The Appendices of the volume contain variant readings of movements elsewhere contained in it, and of the first, third, and sixth Preludes and Fugues in the second part of the “Well-tempered Clavier.”
512
See B.G. XLV. (1) Appendix.
513
Only nos. 2 and 3 are derived from Vivaldi.
514
A variant text is in B.G. XLII. 282.
515
Vivaldi’s text of the first movement is in the Appendix (p. 229).
516
See B.G. XLIII. (2) sec. 1 no. 2.
517
The fugal subject is taken from the Allabreve.
518
Bach’s instrumental accompaniments are in the Appendix (p. 143).
519
C. P. E. Bach’s collection of his father’s Choral settings was published by Immanuel Breitkopf in four volumes between the years 1784-87. They are all inoluded in Breitkopf and Haertel’s edition (1898) of Bach s “Choralgesänge”; the numerals in brackets in the above list indicate the position of each Choral in that collection. The latter includes also the simple four-part Chorals from the Oratorios and Cantatas; hence the numeration of that volume and B.G. XXXIX. is not uniform.
520
The bracket states the title by which the tune is better known.
521
The Chorals are taken from two sources, Anna Magdalena Bach’s “Notenbuch” (1726; see B.G. XLIII. (2)), and Schemelli’s “Musicalisches Gesang-Buch” (1736), of which Bach was the musical editor. The latter contains sixty-nine melodies (with figured bass), the former seven: one melody (No. 14) is in both collections. The Schemelli tunes are indicated by an S within a bracket after the numeral. One melody (No. 71) is indubitably by Bach himself. It, and others, which may be attributed to him on good evidence, are marked by an asterisk. The seventy-five settings are published in practicable form by the N.B.G. I. (1) and I. (2).
522
Nos. 22 and 23 are the same tune.
523
For a discussion of Bach’s original hymn-tunes see the present writer’s “Bach’s Chorals,” Part II. Introduction, pp. 67 ff. Six more of Bach’s original hymn-tunes are printed there.
524
The first three Arias are published by Novello, and also by the N.B.G. I. (1).
525
In the Royal Library, Berlin. Kirnberger was a pupil of Bach. See section on Variants infra.
526
Novello omits the concluding four-part Choral.
527
The Prelude is also attributed to J. L. Krebs, a pupil of Bach.
528
See section on Variants infra.:
529
Variant, P. bk. 245 p. 106.
530
Ernst Naumann remarks, “Das Stück kann recht gut von Seb. Baoh herrühren.” The text is complete, and the omission of the Prelude from the Novello edition is to be regretted.
531
A transcription of the second Sonata for Solo Violin, in A minor, See B.G. XXVII. (1).
532
A transcription of the third Partita, in E major, for Solo Violin. See ibid.
533
From the third Sonata for Solo Violin, in C major. See ibid.
534
Both Sonatas are arrangements of instrumental Sonatas in J. A. Reinken’s “Hortus Musicus.” See Spitta, i. 430.
535
Both Sonatas are arrangements of instrumental Sonatas in J. A. Reinken’s “Hortus Musicus.” See Spitta, i. 430.
536
After a Sonata movement by J. A. Reinken.
537
After a Fugue by J. C. Erselius. The original is given in Anhang II. of the volume.
538
Only Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 14 are derived from Vivaldi. The others are founded on Benedetto Marcello (No. 3), Duke Johann Ernst of Weimar (Nos. 11, 16, and perhaps 13).
539
The Toccata is by Henry Purcell. See Grove, vol. iii. p. 857.
540
The volume also contains a Variant of the first Organ Concerto (B.G. XXXVIII.).
541
The Concerto is an arrangement of one by Antonio Vivaldi for four Violins, the original of which (in B minor) is given in the Appendix to the volume.
542
Omitting the vocal numbers, movements printed elsewhere, and the “Menuet fait par Mons. Böhm,” Peters’ Bk. 1959 contains the remaining twenty numbers of the Notebook. They are indicated in the above index by a P in a bracket.
543
A separate Preface to the reprinted Suites is by Ernst Naumann. It is dated 1895.
544
Perhaps an arrangement of an orchestral piece. See Schweitzer, i. 342 n.
545
The Appendix to the volume contains addenda to the Violin Concerto in A minor (see B.G. XXL. (1)) and Cantata 188 (see B.G. XXXVII.). Also the Zurich and London texts of the “Welltempered Clavier” (B.G. XIV.), with critical notes.
546
The Preface is dated 1899. The volume was issued in 1900.
547
The original words are “Die Schätzbarkeit der w
eiten Erden.”
548
The title-page is dated 1913 and the Preface “Im Advent auf 1914.”
549
The Aria is no. 20 of A. M. Bach’s “Notenbuch” for 1725. See E.G. XLII. (2) no. 20.
550
This publication, announced for 1916, appears under a different title as the third issue for 1917. See infra, XVII. (3).
Bach by Reginald Lane Poole
CONTENTS
PREFACE.
CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER IX.
PEDIGREE OF MUSICIANS IN THE BACH FAMILY
ENDNOTES.
PREFACE.
No one will expect a life of Bach to be amusing, but it will be my own fault if the present Essay does not offer an interest of a high and varied character. If it labours under a disadvantage, as the first biography of the master written in this country, on the other hand it is only now that, thanks to the devotion of Professor Spitta, we can congratulate ourselves on the possession of absolutely all the attainable facts. Hitherto, three translations or abridgements of German works have appeared in England; and the first is one of those books which, however incomplete, can never really be superseded. It is a translation of the “Life” of J. N. Forkel, published at Leipzig in 1802, and in London in 1820. Forkel was not only pre-eminent among the learned musicians of the end of the last century, but also the friend and scholar of Bach’s sons Friedemann and Emanuel. He presents us, therefore, with more than a masterly criticism of Bach’s science, knowing, it should seem, little beyond the organ and clavichord works: he is full of anecdotes and reminiscences of the master, all the more valuable, because told with a naïveté and freshness that stamp them at once as genuine and uncoloured.
The translation of Forkel was followed after a long interval by a volume based partly upon it, partly upon a sketch written by Hilgenfeldt as a centenary memorial in 1850. Though presumably edited by the late Mr. Rimbault, whose initials are appended to the preface, the abstract is so unfaithful and illiterate as to be practically without value. The third biography to which I have alluded is of a different character; it is a plain and conscientious abridgement of the work of C. H. Bitter, now minister of finance in Berlin, and only to be laid aside in view of the more complete materials which have been made accessible to us by Professor Spitta, and in the later publications of the Bach-Gesellschaft.
Dr. Spitta’s “Johann Sebastian Bach,” published at Leipzig in two volumes in 1873 and 1880, represents the many years’ study of a professed musician. For all the facts of Bach’s life, and all the obtainable data relative to his works, it is a final and exhaustive treasure-house. Nothing can be more scientific and workmanlike than the method with which he has exhumed and collected every detail from every source that might possibly bear upon his subject, and nothing more admirable than the warm enthusiasm which lights up his work. Practically he has left hardly anything for further research, nothing certainly that could be made use of in a short sketch like the present. When, however, I state that my facts are mainly due to him, I do not wish to imply his responsibility for a single word not covered by this admission. In criticism I give exclusively the results of an independent study of Bach’s works, which I have pursued for a number of years. Nor am I sure that Dr. Spitta would invariably approve of my arrangement of his facts, and especially of the extent to which I have drawn from the personal narrative of Forkel. In many respects, a small book demands a different treatment from a large one, and I have not restricted my freedom of choice in a sketch that can never by possibility enter into competition with Dr. Spitta’s work. My best wishes for it are that it may serve the modest aim of preparing a worthy reception for his English translation which is shortly to appear.
It would be affectation to conceal the great help in the composition of this volume which I have had from my wife, not merely in the selection of material, but even more in the judgment and taste with which she has controlled my writing.
R. L. Poole.
Leipzig, 21st March, 1882.
CHAPTER I.
It is never without interest to seek out the beginnings of genius in a great man’s forefathers. The mere tracking of pedigrees has an attraction for more than will willingly confess to what is reputed mainly an innocent weakness of old age. The pursuit, however, gains in dignity when it is not only the kinship but also the intellectual growth of the family, not only the blood but also the soul, with which we have to do. In no family, perhaps, is it of greater moment than in that of Sebastian Bach, wherein his special tastes and powers all have their prophecy and preparation in a tradition where everything is musical.
From the first years of the sixteenth century — so soon, in other words, as the arising of a national religion has revealed to us the life of the German people — we have already traces of Bachs scattered among the valleys of Thuringia. There are Bachs near Arnstadt, in Erfurt, and Gotha, and Wechmar, places hereafter to be remembered in the musical vocations of their descendants. The ancestor of Sebastian appears, a little later, as a baker of Wechmar. This Veit Bach († 1619), named from Saint Vitus, the patron of the church there, is related to have passed some years in Hungary, and to have gone back to his home when the rigour of dominant Jesuitism made living in Hungary hard and perilous. We may here note the sole basis for the common story that the family of Bach was of Hungarian descent. Veit sold his goods and set up as a baker, and then as a miller, in his native village. He had — so Sebastian tells the tale — his chief delight in a little cithara (Cythringen), which he would take with him into his mill and play thereon while the corn was grinding. They must have sounded merrily together! Howbeit, so he learnt the sense of time; and in this wise music first came into his house. But music had already a professor among the Bachs, and it was to Caspar Bach, the town piper of Gotha, that Veit entrusted his son Hans.
Hans Bach, player and carpet-weaver, whose portrait was taken with a fiddle and a brave beard1 and ornamented with a fool’s cap, returned from his apprenticeship in his double craft, to settle at Wechmar, where he lived until 1626, when the plague killed him, with many of his kinsfolk, in middle life. His was a blithe personality, in great request in all the places round, as much, it seems, for his hearty goodfellowship as for the help he gave the town musicians wherever he went. To three of his large family, which included apparently three Hanses and certainly two Heinrichs, he handed down, with a part of his open generous nature, that musical inheritance which in their hands grew into an artistic possession rich with the promise of greater fruit. It is worth while to stay a moment at this point to observe how deep roots music had struck into the family of Bach. For it seems that Hans had a brother whose three sons shewed sufficient excellence for the Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt to send them into Italy that they might complete their artistic training. Another son became the ancestor of a continuous succession of musicians, the last of whom, fourth of his line holding office in the ducal court of Meiningen, died organist there in 1846. Among this branch Johann Christian, distinguished as Clavier-Bach, a music-master at Halle, deserves commemoration from his friendship with Wilhelm Friedemann, the son of Sebastian, if only to illustrate the bond which held together the most remotely connected members of the family.
The household at Wechmar was broken up at the death of Hans, and the three brothers, Johann, Christoph, and Heinrich, separated to form new homes in other parts of Thuringia. But the intercourse of themselves and of their children was never in the least relaxed. They married into the same families, helped one another in sickness or poverty; the younger members were apprenticed to their elder kinsfolk and often succeeded to their posts when they died; and the yearly gatherings of the entire family held their ground for a century. The closeness of this attachment merits insisting upon especially, when we consider the tr
oubled times on which the family was thrown at its first dispersion. For the thirty years’ war in its wearisome progress makes the outward history of Germany, in the second quarter of the seventeenth century, little more than a record of battles and sieges, with scant breathing-spaces of peace, not long enough for the towns to recover from exhausting occupations of foreign troops. In this age of continued misery the foundations of German society seemed to be gradually undermined. A struggle, which added to the confusion of civil war the passion of religious hatred, threatened to dissolve the natural bonds of the family and of the race. Men sank into a blind and listless state, abandoning themselves to any vice or excess that seemed to deaden the thought of the morrow. It was therefore amid every circumstance of adversity that the Bach family grew to its full stature; and it is the more noteworthy that the latest, most learned, and most laborious biographer of Sebastian is unable to furnish a single evidence, in the entire records of his kindred, of the least deflection from the straitest paths of virtue.2
Johann Bach, the eldest of Hans’s family with whom we have to do, was apprenticed to the town piper of Suhl, whose daughter he afterwards married, and whose son he came in time to welcome as a pupil and a kinsman in his house. He became organist at Schweinfurt, and ultimately director of the town musicians at Erfurt. It was a hard time, this of war, for musicians; but they had their meed of glory — and profit — when any peace festivities came. And Johann Bach seems to have made himself indispensable, like his father, in all the musical affairs of the place. He began, in fact, a line of musicians so indissolubly bound up with the life of the town, that more than a century later, when all the house was extinct, the town musicians of Erfurt still retained the generic title of “the Bachs.” Adding to the duties of town musician those of organist to the Dominican church, he becomes a prominent forerunner in the two paths in which the genius of his family was to reach its climax. His home, also, lying equally accessible to Arnstadt and Eisenach, remained for long the centre of the greater family of the Bachs in general. It was in Johann that his youngest brother, Heinrich, found a guardian, when he was left an orphan in his twelfth year. Heinrich was not only the greatest musician of his generation, but also specially his father’s son in that kindliness and merry temper which made him as much the delight of his family as he had been of his father in his boyish days. He played in the Erfurt band until he gained the post for which nature and training had fitted him, as organist at Arnstadt, a post which he retained with increasing honour and distinction for above half a century. Of his organ works little remains, but we have the accordant testimony of his contemporaries to place him among the greatest organists of his time. An equal agreement acknowledges his genial lovable nature, in all its freshness and childlike gaiety, which it was beyond the power of adversity to embitter or to corrupt.
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