JS Bach's forebears (PDF) - Academy of Ancient Music

like figures and rhythmically vigorous writing,
before a concluding section of echo phrases.
The Sonata in F offers a memorable succession
of distinctive ideas: the opening Presto uses a
tattoo of repeated notes in a long descending
sequence; then, for the rest of the piece, short
yet languishing cadences alternate with
vigorous fanfare- like figures.
Heinrich Bach’s second son was Johann Michael
Bach (1648–94), who began his career in his
father’s homeplace of Arnstadt as organist at
the castle chapel. From 1673 Johann Michael
held the posts of organist and town clerk in
Gehren, a small town in the Thuringian forest.
His youngest daughter, Maria Barbara, married
Johann Sebastian in October 1707. In Gehren,
Johann Michael was characterised as “quiet,
withdrawn and artistically well- versed”, while
the family tree assembled by Johann Sebastian
describes him as “an able composer”. Most of
Johann Michael’s compositional output consists
of motets for eight- voice choir, a form of church
music traditional in Thuringia. Indeed, the music
theorist Friedrich Erhardt Niedt cheekily
associated the motet with “Thuringian peasants”
and “farmers’ daughters... [who] inherit their
boots from their ancestors”.
A handful of more ambitious pieces survive
from Johann Michael Bach, including the
dialogue ‘Liebster Jesu, hör mein Flehen’ for
the Second Sunday in Lent. The dialogue
dramatises the Gospel story of Jesus and the
woman of Canaan (Matthew 15.21–28). The
woman cries for Jesus’ mercy, but the disciples
(represented by a three- voice chorus) try to
send her away. Both the woman and the
disciples sing simple rhymed texts, set to short,
regular phrases of a somewhat winsome nature.
Jesus’ words, however, are sung by a bass soloist
whose extended phrases reflect the liberating
power of his message: “Ich bin nicht gesandt
denn nur zu den Verlornen vom Hause Israel...
Doch, Weib, dein Glaub’ ist groß” (“I am not sent
only unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel...
4 ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC, 2010-2011 SEASON
Surely, woman, thy faith is great”). The piece
ends with a verse from the 1530 chorale ‘Wie
sich ein Vat’r erbarmet’. It is unlikely that Johann
Michael ever visited an opera house; but his
dialogue shows how he brought a sense of
theatre to his church compositions.
Whereas Johann Michael led a quiet and
respectable life in Gehren, his elder brother
Johann Christoph Bach (1642–1703) had a fiery
and stubborn personality. For most of his life,
Johann Christoph held the dual post of town
organist and court keyboardist in Eisenach. His
time here was marred by frequent quarrels with
the town council, which he felt did not provide
adequate financial recompense for his talent.
Yet Johann Christoph was also highly respected
as a composer, “strong in the invention of
beautiful ideas as well as in the expression of
the meaning of the words” (to quote the
Obituary of Johann Sebastian). Certainly Johann
Sebastian identified strongly with Johann
Christoph’s output and may have even seen
him as some kind of artistic model; of the
manuscripts in the Altbachisches Archiv, it is
mainly those of Johann Christoph’s motets that
bear Johann Sebastian’s annotations.
The large- scale cantata ‘Die Furcht des
Herren’, written for the election of the Arnstadt
town council, is often ascribed to Johann
Christoph Bach, although recent research has
suggested that it may be by his brother Johann
Michael. Each of the vocal parts has symbolic
significance: soprano 1 is the allegorical figure
of Wisdom; other soloists represent the old and
new chamberlains and burgomasters; and the
four- part choir represents “the whole town
council”. In a whimsical touch, the organ part
represents the town clerk; this may be a
reference to Johann Michael, who as mentioned
above combined his musical duties with those
of town clerk. Wisdom dispenses her advice in
solo sections, which alternate with prayers and
proclamations from the other vocalists. The fivepart
string ensemble provides a rich and