Johann Sebastian Bach - booksnow.scholarsportal.info

13 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH.only as a secondar}' study ;and Ernesti was a foe to music.If he came across a scholar who was practising on aninstrument, 'he would say : Do you want to be a beerfiddler?' By his importance in the eyes of BurgomasterStieglitz, he succeeded in procuring that he, like hispredecessor Gesner, should be excused from the duty ofinspection, which was handed over to the four undermasters.Now, when it came to cantor Bach's turn, hereferred to the example of Ernesti, and came neither to tablenor to prayers ; and this omission had the most adverseinfluence on the moral training of the scholars.Since thattime, though many persons have held both places, therehas been but little harm.ony between the rector and thecantor."This quotation gives a clear hint as to the side on whichthe public opinion was ranged in this contest between thetwo officials. Bach's vehement nature carried him intovarious indiscretions ; still, on the main point, he wasin the right. He would have been still in the right,even if he had had less sound ground for appealing tothe old tradition, which had never yet been disputed orabrogated. He could not possibly fulfil his office as hehimself wished and as he was required to do, unless he wasallowed to manage all the affairs of the choir as he judgedproper. This Ernesti must have seen, even if the greatnessof his antagonist had never dawned upon his mind, nor theabsurdity of employing a musician like Bach to teach aparcel of schoolboys. But though he gave himself anair of treating the question from the standpoint of discipline,he nevertheless presumed to try to prove what nonebut a musician could decide—that Krause was not incompetentto be head prefect ; and when Bach asserted thathe could not direct the music, he appealed to theopinion of the scholars. Judgment must be pronouncedaltogether against Ernesti if we only compare the tone andfeeling of the documents on either side. Bach's languageis stern and sharp, and strictly to the point; and in hisnumerous utterances not a word is to be found personal tohis opponent. Ernesti proceeds very differently. He not