Delphi Masterworks of Johann Sebastian Bach (Illustrated) (Delphi Great Composers Book 3)

by Peter Russell

  Endeavours to meet Handel

  Bach and Handel never met, though they were twice very near one another. Handel came to Halle, his native town, in 1719, while on a journey as impresario for the opera in London. Bach hearing of it, made a journey to Halle from Cöthen, but unfortunately arrived there the very day Handel had left. In 1729, he made another attempt to meet Handel by sending him a polite invitation, through his son Friedemann, to come to Leipsic; but Handel refused the invitation. On a third visit of Handel to Halle, Bach was dead. Bach greatly admired Handel’s music, and copied some of it for his own use.

  Bach’s second wife

  We have seen that Bach’s first wife died in 1720. It was not at all in accordance with the family traditions to remain widower, and in 1721 he began to think of re-marrying. He opened negotiations in this year with Anna Magdalena Wülken, a Court singer at Cöthen, twenty-one years old, and the youngest daughter of the Court trumpeter, and was married to her on December 3 in the same year.

  Bach’s second wife was a good musician, and had a fine soprano voice, which she used for the performance of her husband’s works in the privacy of the home circle. She had lessons from her husband in clavier and figured bass playing, and also gave him immense help in copying music; amongst other things, her MS. copy of a great part of Handel’s Passion-music still exists.

  Just before Bach’s second marriage the widow of his uncle Tobias Lämmerhirt died, leaving him part of her estate. This was the uncle who died just before Bach’s first marriage, leaving him a legacy. The second accession of money caused some trouble. The distribution under the will of the widow was disputed in the names of five relations, Joh. Christoph Bach of Ohrdruf, Joh. Jacob Bach, Joh. Sebastian Bach, Maria Wiegand (born Bach), and Anna Zimmermann (born Lämmerhirt). Unfortunately for the petitioners, they had used the names of the three Bachs without ever informing them. As a matter of fact, Joh. Christoph was already dead, and Joh. Jacob was in Sweden; Joh. Sebastian was most indignant when he heard of it, and wrote to the Council of Erfurt disclaiming both for himself and his brother all desire to dispute the will; saying that they were perfectly satisfied with their share, and that the petition was drawn up without any notice being sent to them. The proceedings were then dropped at once, and nothing more is heard of them.

  Little Clavier Book

  Immediately after their marriage the Bachs started a MS. music-book between them, entitled “Clavier Büchlein vor Anna Magdalena Bachin, Anno 1720,” on the first page of which is written a playful inscription to the effect that the book was directed against the Calvinism, and its attendant melancholy and hostility to all art, which was rife at Cöthen at this period. This book was followed in 1725 by a second and larger book; both are preserved in the Royal Library at Berlin. The books contain various clavier compositions by Bach, Böhm, Gerhard and others, besides sundry hymns and sacred songs, also a song on the reflections of a smoker; and others evidently addressed to his wife, to whom he was devoted.

  A Large Family

  He had thirteen children, six sons and seven daughters, by this wife; making, together with those by his first wife, nineteen children in all.

  Anna Magdalena’s portrait was painted by Cristofori, and came into the possession of Philip Emanuel, but it has now disappeared.

  Most of his chamber music was written at Cöthen, where he remained more than five years.

  His position was so peaceful and pleasant that he proposed to spend the rest of his life there. His prince was in full sympathy with him, as we have seen. He had none of the contentions which seem to be almost inevitable between an organist and his church authorities when the organist wishes for anything beyond a mere conventional standard of church music.38 He had nothing to do with either the composition or performance of church music; and if he had remained there the world would have been the poorer by the Passion-music and nearly all the cantatas. Fortunately for us, however, his circumstances altered. His prince married a lady who had no sympathy with music or its professors, and his interest in music began to flag. After five years Bach found himself again obliged to seek another post: and he found one in which he remained till his death.

  Chapter V

  The position and duties of the Cantor of St Thomas’ School at Leipsic — The condition of the school in 1722 — Kuhnau’s death — Competition and election of two cantors in succession — Bach offers himself — Is elected — Difficulties with the authorities. The Council make irritating regulations — Bach endeavours to leave Leipsic — Election of a new Rector, and temporary disappearance of Bach’s troubles.

  St Thomas’ School, Leipsic

  Of the three ancient schools at Leipsic, St Thomas, dating from the thirteenth century under the Augustines, was the oldest and most important. It was endowed with no less than fifty-four scholarships for the encouragement of church music, and its cantor was a person of considerable importance, who ranked next below the Rector and Conrector. These three officials, together with the chief Latin master, were “Superiores,” who kept apart from the “Inferiores” or lower masters. The cantor’s duty was to teach singing for seven hours a week, to take the boys to church on Thursdays at 7 o’clock in the morning, and to give certain Latin lessons. He had also to take his turn with the other Superiores in inspecting and examining the boys for one week in four. The boys lived with them, and the regulations of the school required all to get up at 5 in summer, 6 in winter, to dine at 10, to have supper at 5, to go to bed at 8.

  The Thomasschule at Leipsic

  The boys of the Thomas-school had to supply the music every Sunday in four churches, St Thomas, St Nicholas, St Peter and St Matthew; but at St Peter’s only chorales were sung, so that the younger singers sufficed for this duty.

  A motet or cantata was performed every Sunday at the Thomas-Church and Nicolai-Church alternately: a custom which still continues; the service is at 9 A.M., and the cantata, which is always accompanied by the town orchestra with the organ, takes somewhat the place of the anthem in an English cathedral. The composition to be performed on each Sunday is now announced in the previous Saturday’s papers.

  Office of Cantor

  On great festivals the music was performed in both churches at once, and twice a day. The cantor was responsible for the music at one church, the choir prefect for that at the other.

  In order to lighten the work that this must have imposed on the boys, the choir that sang at St Thomas in the morning would sing the same music at St Nicholas in the afternoon; and the cantata which was sung at St Nicholas in the morning would be repeated at St Thomas in the afternoon. The rehearsals took place on Saturday afternoons from about 2.30 to 4.

  Wedding and funeral music had also to be supplied by the cantor. Moreover he had not only to choose the music for these occasions, and teach it to the choir, but appear in person to direct it, though he frequently left the last duty to the prefect.

  The choristers had to take part in certain processions at Michaelmas, New Year, on St Martin’s and St Gregory’s days: and these performances were conducted by the prefects. For this purpose they were divided into four choirs, but the four choirs had only two or three voices for each part. The cantor had to direct the music in the two other churches, i.e. St John and St Paul, to inspect their organs, and to superintend the town musicians who took part in the church music.

  The holidays consisted of one week during each of the fairs,39 followed by a week of half-holidays. In the summer four weeks of half-holidays. Morning lessons were omitted on Saints’ days, funeral days, and academical speech days. Four whole holidays in the year took place on the “Name days” of the four principal masters.

  In Lent no church music was performed, except on the festival of the Annunciation; and on the last three Sundays in Advent there was no church music.

  The above list of holidays may seem at first sight ample; but it had this great drawback: the masters were never free, as in English schools, to go away for change of scene. The boys appea
r to have lived with them throughout the year. It is possible that German boys do not cause so much anxiety to their masters as English boys, and that work was not carried on at such high pressure as nowadays; it is quite certain that no master of an English public school could pursue his work continuously, year after year, as these old Germans seem to have done, without breaking down in health.

  The cantor was provided with a residence in the school: the salary was 100 gülden (about £13), but the whole income from various sources amounted to about 700 thalers (about £100), together with certain allowances of corn, wine and firewood. A curious custom, though not an uncommon one in those days, was, that certain scholars twice a week went round the town to collect donations for the school; and out of these, 6 pfennige (about three farthings) per week were taken for each scholar and divided between the four upper masters. The moneys collected during the processional singing in the streets, and also the fees paid for funerals and weddings were divided according to certain fixed rules. Bach mentions to Erdmann that when the air of Leipsic is good there are few funerals, and therefore the cantor’s income is smaller. Many efforts were made by the public to evade these taxes, by holding funerals and weddings without music; and there arose a certain feeling of indignation that an important school and church official should partly derive his means of subsistence from money obtained by begging.

  Owing to the insufficiency of accommodation the school was a centre of illness, until the building was enlarged.

  The Rector, Ernesti, was very old — he was a learned man, but was not able to control either masters or boys. The former quarrelled among themselves, and neglected their duties; the boys were undisciplined, and the many calls on their time for musical performances made their education difficult. When Ernesti was appointed there were one hundred and twenty boys in the lower school; there were now only fifty-three.

  The scholarships had plenty of applicants, but the better class of citizens sent their sons to the other schools. The lowest classes of the Thomas School consisted of boys of the worst character, who went about the town barefoot and begging.

  Kuhnau’s troubles

  All reform which might result in curtailing his salary was opposed by Ernesti, and the cantor seconded his opposition. Things therefore grew worse and worse till his death in 1729. In 1730 the superintendent reported that the school had run wild, and that there were so few scholars that it was proposed to close the lower classes altogether. As to the singing, it must have been very bad. The slow processions in the worst of weather, the running up long flights of stairs to sing before the doors of the higher “flats” ruined the voices. Kuhnau complained in 1717 that the trebles lost their voices before they had learned to use them. In addition to this, they were undisciplined and often feeble and miserable from illness, so that they did not offer an attractive material for the cantor to work upon.

  Kuhnau worked his hardest to remedy this state of things, but without avail. In reply to his very reasonable request that at least two trebles should be set apart for church music only, and not allowed to run about the streets and attend funerals for money, the Council took no further steps than to allow 4 gülden for this purpose, and that two boys should be released from the winter processions.

  When from 1693 to 1729 a house in the Brühl, one of the chief streets of Leipsic, was used for the performance of operas during the fairs, much damage was done to the musical tendencies of the inhabitants of Leipsic. The students of the University, who had formerly taken an important part in the performance of the church cantatas, now left Kuhnau (after he had been at the trouble of training them), and joined the chorus of the opera. The trouble was most acute when Telemann was organist of the Church of St Matthew. He had been a student in the University, had composed an opera, and had formed a musical society amongst the students. Looking upon him as one of themselves, they entirely left Kuhnau, who had to supply the music for the churches as best he could. A new and operatic style of music came into vogue under Telemann at St Matthew’s Church, which became very popular; and his musical society became the most important in Leipsic. There were sixty members, who practised twice a week from 8 to 10 in the evening, and their performances, which took place during fair time, became important. This “Musical Union” practised in the coffee-houses, and members of the public were admitted; its meetings had none of the formality of school practice, but were cheerful and attractive. Some of its better instrumentalists obtained engagements in good bands, as at Dresden, Darmstadt, Wolfenbüttel and Hamburg.

  Telemann’s post, when he left, was successively occupied by good musicians, and the union and opera were kept up; the cantor had, in consequence, a hard time of it. At festivals and fairs, when he was naturally anxious to do well before the public, he had nothing to rely on but a few inefficient town musicians and unruly schoolboys.

  The organ at the Thomas Church was “belaboured first by one, then by another pair of unwashed hands,” the director of the music being either unable to play it, or absent. Kuhnau begged that a regular organist should be appointed, but he begged in vain. The Council, like everyone else, were more interested in the attractions of the opera than in the serious music of the two important churches.

  The Thomas School

  At last even the boys took to the opera. Those who had any voices got engaged by an impresario, ran away from school, and returned only to appear in the theatre during fair time, thus exciting the admiration and envy of their former school-fellows. The music at the Thomas School had reached its lowest ebb at the time of Kuhnau’s death.

  The Successor to Kuhnau

  Kuhnau, the cantor of this School of St Thomas at Leipsic, died on June 5, 1722. Six candidates applied for the post — Fasch, a former pupil of Kuhnau, and now capellmeister to the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst; Rolle, musical director at Magdeburg, and formerly organist of Quedlinburg; Telemann, who had composed cantatas for St Thomas’ Church, and operas for the Leipsic theatre, cantor at Hamburg; G. F. Kauffmann, a pupil of Buttstedt, and organist of Merseburg; Graupner, capellmeister of Darmstadt; and Schott, the organist of St Matthew’s Church at Leipsic.

  Telemann was elected, and arrangements were made for his installation, when he wrote from Hamburg that he would not accept the office. The Council were therefore, much against their will, obliged to elect another, and their choice fell on Graupner, who had been nine years a boy in the Thomas School, and was a pupil of Kuhnau. He was considered one of the best composers for the harpsichord of the day. He was backed by strong recommendations and testimonials from Heinichen, the capellmeister of Dresden, but the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt refusing to part with him, he was forced to retire.

  Bach offers himself

  At the end of 1722 Bach, after long and anxious deliberation, offered himself for the appointment.

  He did not wish to leave his comfortable post at Cöthen, and moreover the position of cantor was somewhat less dignified than the office of capellmeister. On the other hand, the education of his sons could be better carried out at Leipsic, and the marriage of the Prince had to some extent put him out of favour. After some three months’ hesitation, acting on the advice of friends, he went to Leipsic and performed his test piece, “Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe” (Peters, 1290), on February 7, 1723.

  The Agreement

  On the retirement of Graupner Bach was chosen, with the proviso that if he could not teach all the Latin required, they would pay a deputy to do it for him. Not wishing to be behind his predecessor Kuhnau, he undertook all the duties, but soon finding the Latin too much of a task, he paid his colleague Pezold 50 thalers per annum to relieve him of this part of his work. He had to sign an agreement to lead a respectable and sober life; to be faithful and diligent in the performance of his duties; to have a proper respect for the Council; not to make the church music too long or too operatic; to instruct the boys in instrumental as well as vocal music; to treat them with humanity; not to send incapable singers to the New Church;40 not to make any
journeys without permission from the Burgomaster; and not to accept any office in the University without leave from the Council.41

  After signing this agreement, he had to pass an examination as to his religious views, and on the 13th of May 1723, he was confirmed in the appointment: though the installation did not take place till the 31st.

  St Thomas’ Church, Leipsic

  Bach’s residence was in the left side of the school buildings: but in 1731 the building was enlarged and he for a year lived in a temporary residence, for which the Council paid a rent of 60 thalers.

  This particular post of cantor was one of the most important in Germany and had been always held by a distinguished man. The work was not heavy, though the list of duties seems a long one; and he would have time for his own engrossing occupation of composing. He still held the rank of a capellmeister, and in addition to that of Cöthen, he was given honorary rank as capellmeister of the Court of Weissenfels in the year he removed to Leipsic.

  Troubles with the Authorities

  And with the resumption of church work came difficulties of many kinds. The authorities never, from first to last, recognised that they had one of the world’s greatest geniuses to deal with; in fact they did not require a genius; all they asked was that their cantor should be able to carry out the church music in a respectable conventional manner. Bach, with his lofty ideals, was so often at variance with them that the history of his life at Leipsic seems at first sight to consist of one long turmoil and trouble.

  Cloud and Sunshine

  Yet there are bright spots in the picture; and nothing was able to disturb the equanimity with which, in spite of external rubs, he for twenty-seven years continued to pour forth his marvellous Passion music and cantatas.