Johann Sebastian Bach - booksnow.scholarsportal.info

ach's official position. 223musician ; indeed, he never crossed the German frontier.Still, he inherited a taste for wandering, and he travelledfrom Leipzig a good deal, considering the times and circumstances,and thus contributed himself to extend hisfame as an artist.^^ He was still Capellmeister at Cöthenwhen he settled at Leipzig, and in the same year wasappointed "outdoor" Capellmeister at Weissenfels. Theseoffices required the person who held them to providecompositions for the use of the respective Courts whencalled upon to do so, and to present himself from time totime in person. A curious fate presided over Bach's connectionwith Weissenfels ; it has left scarcely a trace toposterity. Not a single composition can be pointed to aswritten by Bach for the Court of Duke Christian, after hisfirst dedicating a cantata to him from Weimar in 1716 ; allwe know is that this same cantata was subsequently usedagain for a Court festival at Weissenfels.*^'' From this wemay be allowed to suppose that after Duke Christian'sdeath in 1736 Bach's services were scarcely ever againclaimed for any musical productions. His successor, JohannAdolph IL, introduced a very economical regime, with aview to retrieving the fortunes of his family which wasdeeply in debt. He died in 1746, and with him this Saxonbranch became extinct. Bach enjoyed the title of" Hochfiirstlich Weissenfehische wirkliche Capelhneisicr " tillhis death,^^^ so it does not follow that he should havefulfilled any duties even during Johann Adolph's lifetime.However, he frequently visited the Court there between1723 and 1736. He himself mentions incidentally that hehad to quit Leipzig once or twice between 1723 and 1725,oh impedimenta legitima ; on one of these occasions he had goneto Dresden,^^^ and on the second we may suppose he went*i^ Forkel is to a certain extent in error when he says (p. 48):" If he hadonly chosen to travel he might have concentrated in himself the admiration ofthe world, as indeed even his enemies allowed." The "enemy" must havebeen Scheibe, but he makes the remark in a different sense. Grit. Mus., p. 62."' See Vol. I., p. 566 ff.*'9 See " Nützliche Nachrichten von denen Bemühungen derer Gelehrten . . .in Leipzig." 1750, p. 680.^'9 See Vol. II., p. 220.