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34 The older Bach family
The older Bach family
“Johann Sebastian Bach belongs to a family whose
love and skill in music appear as though they were
universal gifts granted by nature to all its members.
So much is certain, that from Veit Bach, the ancestor
of the family, all his descendants, now down to the
seventh generation, have devoted themselves to music,
and all of them, with perhaps a few exceptions,
have made it their profession.”
The obituary of Johann Sebastian Bach which was
written by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Johann
Friedrich Agricola begins with this retrospective
glance over the family history. The placing of Bach’s
artistry within the larger context of his family was of
great importance both for the understanding of his
achievements and for determining his place in music
history. Among Bach’s forefathers there are a large
number of composers with above-average gifts
whose works represent a genuine enrichment of our
musical life.
Johann Bach (1604–1673)
The Erfurt organist Johann Bach was the earliest
member of the Bach fam ily to make his mark as a
composer. His work was overshadowed by the privations
caused by the Thirty Years’ War and the no less
difficult years which followed. Those uncertain times
also threatened the preserva tion of musical works of
art with the result that we possess few examples of
Johann Bach’s music. Three choral works are currently
associated with his name, but none of these attributions
are considered to be certain.
– Sei nun wieder zufrieden (G/E)
Coro SSAT/ATTB, [Bc] / 3 min
ed. G. Graulich
Carus 30.132
– Unser Leben ist ein Schatten (G/E)
Coro SSATTB/ATB, Bc / 8 min
ed. G. Graulich
Carus 30.131
– Weint nicht um meinen Tod (Aria) (G)
Coro SATB, [Bc] / 4 min
Carus 1.253
Heinrich Bach (1615–1692)
Heinrich Bach, Johann Bach’s younger brother, dominated
the musical life of Arnstadt for more than half a
century. Also due to the ill-fated times, only very few
of his compositions have been preserved, including
a sonorous sacred concerto, Ich danke dir, Gott,
written in the Venetian style.
– Ich danke dir, Gott (G/E)
Soli SSATB, Coro SSATB, 2 Vl, 2 Va, Bc / 6 min
ed. H. Bergmann
Carus 30.402
– Kyrie (L)
Coro SSATTB, ed. Th. Synofzik
Carus 30.403
– Two Sonatas à 5
2 Vl, 2 Va, Vne (Vc), Bc /�
ed. U. Konrad
Carus 30.411
Georg Christoph Bach (1642–1697)
Georg Christoph Bach, the elder brother of Johann
Sebastian Bach’s father, Johann Ambrosius, worked
from 1688 onwards as Kantor of the Johanniskirche
in Schweinfurt. The only work of Georg Christoph
Bach which we possess is a cantata which he composed
on the occasion of both his 47th birthday and a
visit to Schweinfurt by his two younger twin brothers.
The composition alludes in various ways to its family
context, and to the motto of brotherly harmony symbolized
by an emblem on the title page of the score.
– Siehe, wie fein und lieblich ist’s (G/E)
Soli TTB, Vl, Vne, 3 Vg, Bc / 8 min
Carus 30.801
Bach vocal