The Story of Johann Bach

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22355, 19 March 1938, Page 2 (Supplement)

The Story of Johann Bach

Here is the story of a i ran orphan when >he teas Johann Sebastian Bach had him to be great in the wori so diligently and he loved n name behind, him that will

There was once a little boy. whose name was Johann Sebastian; Bach, and who was born '-just a month later than George Handel; who, you will -remember, played his clavichord in *the attic of his home! Now Johann, unlike George, came from a long line of important musicians, for before his arrival there had been 37 distinguished composers ih his family. The Child Worker Johann was eager to study all the music books that, he could discover, and one would have fancied that it would be easy, for him to obtain ac-

Toung Bach copied the music, page by page, in the moonlight

cess to these and facilities for indulging his musical bent. Such, however, was not the case, for Johann was the pupil of an older brother named John Christopher, and this brother, the organist of Ohrdruff, seeing that Johann was vastly attracted by a book of musical instruction, flatly forbade him to study it.

tiny musician, who was left only 10 years old. Little but few advantages to help Id of music, but he worked tusic so much that he left a never perish.

,Whenever the coast was clear Johann would' take the coveted volume from the shelves and steal with it. to His room. He Laboured in {Secret There the little boy. then not in ■his teens, would copy it page for page, late at night and more often than not with only the moonlight to aid..him. How his young eyes suffered may well be understood. He Sings in the Choir A fine treble’ voice' obtained for Johann free admission to the convent school of St. Michael at Lune-

Johann sang in the choir at St. Michael’s convent, Limeburgr

burg, and now he was happier than ever before; , The glory of church music was inspiring those masterpieces that one day were to flow uninterrupted from his mind. The Hungry Musician Returning one day from Hamburg, tired and hungry, Johann, who was utterly penniless, sat down to rest

outside an inn. How he longed to taste some of the dishes whose fragrant odours came to him through the windows. But he had no money, so perforce he had to feed through the nostrils! Suddenly he became attracted to a sound above him, and was just in time to see a hand casting down the heads of two herrings. He was so famished that he could not resist picking them up. Imagine his surprise when he discovered that each head contained a Danish ducat—wealth to him. Who his unknown benefactoV was history does not reveal, but this unexpected gift enabled nim to purchase the food he so badly needed. After leaving that peaceful convent school Johann’s life of work was to commence in real earnest. At' the convent School he had the opportunity of playing on the organ. One day Johann, happening to be on a visit to relations at Arnstadt, was invited to try a new organ. He quickly realised that here was an instrument such as he had been dreaming of, and he indulged himself so much in the joy of the moment that the authorities of the church realised at once that they had found the very organist they were looking for. ■ Soon he was installed. , His career had begun. . After a spell at Arnstadt he travelled through Germany eking out a living as best he could, and little by little building up a reputation that was destined to equal that, of the great Beethoven.

Johann Bach diet not know those fieh-heads contained money

John Bach was the supreme master of religious music, Snd as such retains that paramount position to this very. day.

He had won his fame through suffering, for like those other child musical geniuses of whom we v have been told, there was no silver spoon Jn his mouth when he was born.