Famous composers and their works, Vol. 1

by Unknown

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

Drawing by Sidney L. Smith, after the monument in Eisenach, by A. Donndorf.

In the autumn of 1705, Bach determined to give the finishing touch to his musical culture by studying for a short time with Dietrich Buxtehude in Lübeck. Buxtehude was a Dane, born in 1638 at Helsingförs, on the island of Seeland, and consequently an old man at that time. Towards the middle of the seventeenth century, he came to Lübeck and became organist of Saint Mary's Church. The position was one of the finest in Germany, not only on account of the very considerable income it afforded, but also because of its magnificent organ and the favorable musical conditions prevailing in the place. Buxtehude is to be regarded as the founder of the "Abendmusiken," musical performances on a grand scale, which took place in the church, between four and five o'clock in the afternoon, on the five Sundays preceding Christmas. On these occasions he distinguished himself as an organ virtuoso and often presented his own vocal compositions. Bach had formed his travelling plans with direct reference to spending the period of the Abendmusiken in Lübeck. Towards the end of October, he asked for a few weeks' leave of absence, and undertook, with the help of the money saved from his salary, to make the long journey of fifty German miles on foot. Arrived in Lübeck, there is no doubt that he at once entered into close personal relations with Buxtehude. So completely, indeed, did he fall under the spell of the artist, that he forgot all the duties of his office and trebled his leave of absence, returning to Arnstadt on the 21st of February. Perhaps it lay only with himself to decide upon settling permanently in Lübeck. It was often the case with regard to the positions of organist, cantor and the like, that the sons-in-law of the incumbents, in wooing their wives, had at the same time sued for the office of the father. Buxtehude had himself pursued this course, and, as his children were all daughters, he wished to see the husband of the oldest in the person of his successor. In the year 1703, Handel, who had then just come to Hamburg, paid a visit to Buxtehude. He had probably wished to ascertain whether the place was a desirable one for himself, since it was evident that the venerable artist had not long to live. But the marriage which was made a condition of the contract presented too few allurements. Bach may have held the same opinion, or else, as is more likely, he was already bound to his native province by ties of strong affection.

The church Consistory in charge of Bach's position were justly indignant at his unduly protracted absence and called him to account. After his extremely promising beginning, people had grown more and more dissatisfied with the manner in which he discharged his duties as organist. He was reproached with making his accompaniment for the congregational singing so intricate and irregular that the singers often completely lost the melody. Moreover, he at first made his preludes immoderately long, and, when given a hint of this by the officiating clergyman, he immediately fell into the opposite extreme, and cut them much too short. It was also said that he had neglected the training of his pupil-choir and was unable to exercise proper control over the same. These complaints were certainly not unfounded; they accord with Bach's artistic development and with his character. When he sat before the organ, inspired by musical thoughts in rich profusion, he could not have been the genius that he was, if he did not sometimes forget that he must adapt himself to the comprehension of the congregation and the arrangement of the service. That, after the exhortation to restraint, he at once offered preludes of the most striking brevity, is an instance of that defiant spirit which was one of his strongly marked characteristics. The pupil-choir, after a time, began to seem insignificant in his eyes, and the exercises with them monotonous. Considering his youth and the irritability of his temperament, it is not surprising that he failed to retain the respect of this band of untrained youths. Notwithstanding their reproaches, the members of the Consistory showed themselves, on the whole, sufficiently lenient, and allowed nearly a year to pass before making further remonstrances, though he continued, in the interval, to act as he pleased. Bach was no longer contented in Arnstadt, where, after all, though perfectly capable of standing in the first rank, he filled a position of secondary importance. It is credibly related, that favorable offers were made him at this time, from many different places, and on the 29th of June, 1707, he resigned his office in Arnstadt to accept an appointment as organist at Mühlhausen, in Thuringia.

The Bachs, as a family, were accustomed to marry early in life. Among the criticisms upon Sebastian's conduct made by the clergy of Arnstadt, there was one to the effect that he had accompanied upon his organ, the singing of a "strange maiden." This, however, could not well have happened during the service, as female singers in that day were still excluded from church music. The "maiden" was probably his cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, daughter of Michael Bach, who might have been betrothed to him at that time, since he married her on the 17th of October, 1707. Four of the seven children of this marriage, three sons and a daughter, reached maturity, and two of these sons, Wilhelm Friedemann, and Carl Philipp Emanuel, born in 1710 and 1714 respectively, are well known to have attained great musical renown.

In Mühlhausen there were two principal churches, the Blasius and the Church of St Mary. The former, to which Bach was attached, took the highest rank, its organist constituting the chief musical dignitary of the city, and a certain additional lustre was shed upon the position, through the fact that it had been filled by a number of brilliant musicians. Among these were Joachim Moller, styled von Burck (1541-1610), Johann Rudolf Ahle (1625-1673) and Johann Georg Ahle (1673-1706). The prominent composer, Johann Eccard, a contemporary and friend of Moller, was also a native of Mühlhausen. Bach recognized the honor conferred upon him by the call, and it spurred him on to more important achievements. In addition to his unwearied efforts to advance himself in the line of his special branch of art, he zealously strove to elevate the standard of vocal music in the churches of Mühlhausen, and procured at his own expense a fine collection of the best church music, which was produced by him from time to time. He caused the organ of the Blasiuskirche to be repaired after a plan of his own, which bore witness to his great practical knowledge, and also attached to it a Glockenspiel, or peal of bells. He moreover composed several great pieces of church music for chorus, solo voices, organ and other instruments. One of these was performed on the 4th of February, 1708, at the time of the so-called Changing of the Council, an annual ceremony which consisted in transferring the administration of one of the three branches of the municipal government to another. A second beautiful work of the same order was founded on the words of the 130th psalm. But from various causes Bach soon found his activity held in check. His grand and lofty compositions, which surprised by their novelty, presented a striking contrast to the light and pleasing style of the later Mühlhausen masters. The inhabitants of the free and ancient imperial city were possessed of a strongly developed local pride, extending far beyond its proper limits. Affecting superiority, they were disposed to hold themselves aloof from strangers, and that a youth of twenty-two, treading in the footsteps of their once highly respected fellow-citizens, should manifest such independence and love of innovation, aroused their antagonism. These difficulties, however, were not insuperable; Bach, on his side, was not wanting in friends, and the Council gave abundant proof of its good-will. But other and more radical differences existed, which could not be so easily put aside. Philipp Jakob Spener had recently started a movement in the Lutheran Church, which, after the publication of his book, entitled "Pia Desideria," received the name of pietism, and this movement had spread to Mühlhausen. The first clergyman of the town and leading preacher at the Blasiuskirche, J. A. Frohne, was an ardent advocate of the principles and measures of Spener, which owed their origin to the unsatisfactory status of the Lutheran clergy. This body adhered obstinately to the forms which Luther had given it, while departing all too widely from the spirit of the Protestant reformer. The pietism of Spener, in the first decades of its existence, had brought abundant blessing into the domain of spiritual and intellectual life, while his opponents, who were styled orthodox, presented a sad picture of moral torpor and arrogant narrow-mindedness. Unfortunately, the pietists became by degrees very strongly tinctured with asceticism, which had the effect of lessening their influence upon the popular heart, and rendering impossible the genuine success of their cause. As a class, they conceived of the earthly life only in the light of a contrast to the heavenly one, which they dreamed of leading in a state of blessed communion with God. Everything which did not directly promote this rapt, contemplative condition they felt bound to reject, and in this way soon became hostile to the arts, which the orthodox highly valued and encouraged, after the example of Luther. Music seemed to the pietists seductive, unless made to serve an edificatory purpose, and even then it could be employed only for the accentuation of simple religious songs. These, at any rate, were the views which Frohne now sought to establish; it was only natural that Bach, whose genius was just beginning to spread its mighty wings, whose highest aim was to introduce a lofty type of ecclesiastical music, embracing everything the age had produced in the shape of artistic forms and devices, should lift up his voice in protest at such a time. If ever in his life he had been characterized by a yielding and pliant disposition, it was not to be expected that he should manifest it now, when his life-work was in question. We must therefore regard it as the voice of destiny which, after the lapse of a single year, called him to fill the post of organist at the ducal court of Weimar, one of the places he had formerly visited in making a concert tour. He did not hesitate to obey the call, though realizing to the full the extent of his obligation to the friendly and appreciative Council of the city of Mühlhausen. These men were well aware of the magnitude of their loss and consented most unwillingly to his release, after imposing the condition that he should continue to superintend from Weimar the organ repairs which he had commenced.

MORNING PRAYERS IN BACH FAMILY.