JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 3614, 18 November 1924, Page 2

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

LONG NEGLECTED GREATNESS. 'f [By H. A. Thomson, in the Melbourne y ‘Argus. J ! e The Baeli family is traced back to the v early part of the sixteenth century, and " is noticeable for the extraordinarily large number of musicians—many quite distinguished—which it produced, d Johann Sebastian Bach was born at d Eisenach in March, 1685, and, in Parry’s li words, “In him the gifts of this consisi- tently and profusely-gifted family, and the v Jong traditions of earnestness and sina cerity which had become characteristic of y Teutonic musicians, bore at last the e noblest and maturest fruit.” At the age f of ten Bach was left an orphan, and was > taken into his home by his elder brother, f John Cristoph, likewise a musician of some f note. All too little is known of the int timate life of that household, but what is b known sliows it as eminently suitable to - form the boy’s character and develop his - musical faculty. That Johann received a s good education, if somewhat brief, is 0 known, for later he was appointed to in- - struct the boys at St. Thomas’s School at Leipzig in Latin as well as in music. , Much importance attaches to that period - of Bach’s early life owing to the peculiar b circumstances and environment, and Parry , considers that it probably marks the be- . ginning of his actual experience of choral r music. RAPID DEVELOPMENT. 7 At the age of fifteen Bach began to ; provide for himself—in 1703 he occupied J some position in the service of the Duke > of Weimar’s brother. At eighteen lie be--1 came organist at Arnstadt, when he had ' already attained some efficiency as i player, though little is known of his development in composition. The opportunities presented at Arnstadt, which was a music-loving and advanced place, were quickly seized, and Spitta dates his can- | tata, ‘ Demi du wirst meine Seele nicht j in der Holle lassen,’ as written soon after his appointment. Parry points out that the importance of that work is that it represents such a sudden attainment of a high and equal degree of mastery and such a consistent revelation of the composer’s personality. From now on we see j Bach’s development proceeding with in- | credible rapidity. He craved to hear great | works and performers, and distance, even I if it had to be covered on foot, never deI terred him from making pilgrimages to ■ satisfy his artistic hunger. An interesting | episode is his absence in Lubeck for four i months, when he had. been granted four weeks, and the consequent wrath of his church masters. His visit to Lubeck resulted in his becoming absorbed in composition, and caused his relationship with tlie church authorities to become strained. Bach's career at Muhlhausen began in 1707—as organist of the Church of St. Blasius, at the munificent salary of about £lO a year, with some perquisites, such as firewood, corn, and three pounds of fish per annum. In 1707 Bach married his cousin, Maria Barbara Bach. At this ! period Parry speaks of his “ manifesting 1 an astonishing range of mastery.” Allurj ing as the subject of Bach’s works is, space precludes even the mention of them, and I must leave the reader to revel in Parry’s book. During an absence in Carlsbad in 1720, Bach’s wife died, which must have left a great void to such a | home-loving and domesticated nature. Api parently he sought solace in his work, as i the ever-growing mass of masterpieces indicates. Bach’s second wife—Anna Magdalena, the daughter of the court trumpeter—was a good musician, who played on the clavier, and had been a court singer at i Cothen. This union appears to have been i the real union of souls, for there is, deI spite the scanty information of their domestic life, abundant evidence that their | love was sincere and deep, and their in- | terests common, and that his wife lai bored for and with her great husband. Throughout the whole of his life he poured out his masterly creations in all branches of the art, and calls from Parry this eulogy: “He produced thfc finest suites, the finest organ music, the finest church cantatas, the finest solo violin music, the finest choral motets, the finest I chorale preludes, and the finest ‘ Passions.’ { Throughout all Bach’s work is evidence of | a deep religious and devotional belief; sincerity and honesty are in every one of j them. It is a happy description that the j way he harmonised and elaborated the German chorales wifi all the substlety of ( his art was no vain display, but the re- | velation of the deepest workings of Ins nature, the very musings of his inmost 1 soul.’’ Parry aptly says “ Bach had so . constantly used his highest skill for the j purpose of devotional expression that he i seemed to have arrived at the frame of I mind which, through association, felt the skill itself to be something sacred and devotional.” When he was about sixty years of age, ominous signs of failing sight manifested themselves. Later he underwent two operations, which were unsuccessful, and left him blind; this was seemingly early in 1750. In July his sight was partially restored, but it was obvious to his friends that the end was near. Tradition says that about that date he had begun work on a chorale prelude, “ when we are in deepest need,” and that he dictated it to his pupil and son-in-law, Altnikol, and with touching sincerity of devotion altered the title from the piteous expression of deepest need to the words “ Yor deinem Thron tret’ich ” (“ I come before Thy throne ”). Death had ever had a peculiar fascination for him, and he met it without complaint or fear, but “with exquisite peace and trust.” Parry’s words are singularly appropriate: “Music had been his life. Music had been his one means of expressing himself, and in the musical form which had been most congenial to him he bids his farewell, and only in the last bar of all for a moment a touch of sadness is felt—where he seems to look round upon those dear to him, and to cast upon them the 'tender gaze of sorrowing love. And with that last phase his earthly labor ended on July 28, 1750.” PITIABLE PHASES. What was to follow is almost beyond belief. He was buried on July 31, 1750, the record showing him merely as an official of St. Thomas’s School. Of so little importance was the death and burial of this great man that even the tireless it vestigator, Spitta, could only discover that his grave had been near the church when, a century later, the old graveyard was removed, all traces of it were lost for ever. Even then the last pitiable phase of the story is to come. His beloved wife (Anna Magdalena) was left in extreme poverty, and for a time received charity, ■ and died as an almswoman in 1760. Nothing is known of her burial or resting place Few of Bach’s compositions were minted in his lifetime, and after his death nost of liis manuscripts were divided between his sons Friedernann and Philip Emanuel. For over half a century Bach tnd his message were forgotten and unleaded, despite the fact that he left a lumber of distinguished pupils behind dm, some even his own kith and kin. .iis pupils, most of whom were dis-y

tinguished musicians, failed signally to gain for Bach’s works proper recognition, but it is of interest to note that one of them—Mizler —was one of the first to put on record some facts of his master’s life, while J. Doles, who was at St. Thomas’s School when Mozart visited there years later, roused his enthusiasm by showing him some of the choral motets. In 1709 the last of Bach’s actual family, his daughter Regina Johanna, died. Like her mother, she was dependent on charity at the close of her life.

Gradually the awakening came, and musicians studied with amazement the few works available. As Parry says: “It began to dawn upon them that these were no products of mere pedantry and mechanical skill, but the utterances of such a splendid and poetic personality as had rarely appeared in the world.” Unfortunately a great number of priceless works were lost for ever, especially those which had been in Friedemann’s possession. Soon the Wohltamperirtes Clavier and the organ works aroused enthusiasm, and in 1829 Mendelssohn performed the ‘ Mat-thaus-Passion ’ in Leipzig—a hundred years after the first performance. As more and more of his works became known musicians of all countries began to understand the importance of this priceless heritage, and to-day Bach is coming into his own, although even now we know all too little, botli of the greatness of his works and of the beauty and nobility of his nature.