Johann Sebastian Bach - booksnow.scholarsportal.info

230 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH."Was mir behagt " must have served was the keeping ofErnst August's birthday. Bach's eldest son has recorded forus that this Duke was " attached by sincere affection to theartist," no less than Leopold of Cöthen and Christian ofWeissenfels.Erfurt also, one of the old gathering-places of the Bachfamily had great attractions for Bach as he advanced inyears. A cousin of his, Joh. Christoph, son of ^gidius Bach,was the leading member of the town musicians of Erfurtwhen Sebastian once more sought him out in the timehonouredtown.^^ This must have been after 1727. Adlungwas at that time organist at the Prediger Kirche, an officewhich Johann Bach had held in his time. Adlung on thisoccasion made great friends with Sebastian Bach ; he mademany inquiries as to his early life, and begged him to playto him on the clavier, in all of which the great mastershowed the polite amiability which characterised him onsuch occasions.^^^Baeh must have made some other journeys about 1730and in July, 1736. It was on the former occasion that hewas so severely called to task by the Leipzig Council^^^ forhaving neglected the proper formalities in asking leave.The latter journey immediately preceded his great quarrelwith Ernesti.^'^ We do not know whither he went on eitherof these occasions, but in the course of the quarrel we learnfrom Ernesti's memoranda that Bach must have beenabsent from Leipzig tolerably often, since Ernesti mentionshow he was accustomed to supply his place in such cases.In later years Bach, as might be expected, moved aboutless, and his liking for " a quiet and domestic life, anda constant and undisturbed devotion to his art,""^^^ preponderated.He could scarcely make up his mind, perhaps,to his last great expedition, which, however, had the most*-^See Vol. I., p. 27.^35 Adlung, Anl. zur Mus. Gel., p. 691. He does not mention any date, butit must certainly have been after 1727, since it was not till the end of that yearthat Adlung came to Erfurt from Jena. Adlung says " Herr Bach came tosee us," whence we may safely infer that he was intimate already with theBachs of Erfurt.«« See Vol. n., p. 243.1S7See ante, p. 6. «38 Forkel, p. 48.