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Re: J.S. Bach in the House
Wow! Thanks a lot! It's certainly far more detailed than the version I had in
my softmushywetdrive!
Did he join a gang while he was in there?
Bob
jerry and judy wrote:
> I found this on my harddrive. It probably came from a website.
>
> jailed Nov 6,1717
>
> It had all begun when Wilhelm Ernst finally persuaded a respect-
> able and well-dowered widow to marry his heir, Ernst Augustus.
> This lady's brother, Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cothen, a gifted
> musical amateur, met Bach at his new brother-in-law's palace, and
> was so impressed by his genius that he forthwith offered him the
> position of Kapellmeister at Cothen. Several considerations prompted
> Bach to entertain the offer. As a member of the ducal household
> he was hedged in by a thousand irritating restrictions, not the
> least of which forbade him to visit the heir presumptive and his
> wife, with whom the Duke was constantly quarreling. In defiance
> of this ukase, Bach's friendship with Ernst Augustus and his con-
> sort continued on so intimate a footing that the Duke became suspicious.
> Any chance of closing the rift between Bach and his em-
> employer was precluded when the Duke passed over Bach's head in
> appointing a new Kapellmeister, the highest musical honor in his
> gift. Smarting from this indignity, Bach proceeded to his triumph
> at Dresden, and came back with his mind made up. He informed
> Prince Leopold of his unwillingness to leave Weimar, and the deal
> was closed in August, 1717.
> When Bach applied for his release, the Duke was furious. In-
> nately opposed to change as something inherently wrong, he saw
> in the threatened departure of one of his best musicians a deter-
> mination on his heir's part to interrupt the smooth tenor of his
> life. He refused. Bach insisted, and on November 6 the Duke placed
> him under arrest. During his incarceration, which lasted almost a
> month, Bach seems to have imitated the examples of Cervantes,
> Bunyan, and other geniuses who suffered imprisonment, by con-
> continuing to work at his art. The one thing he did not do was change
> his mind. Torture being out of fashion, the Duke had to give in,
> and on December 2 he granted this stubborn servant permission
> to go elsewhere. On that date Bach's official career as an organist.
> came to an end. Little more than a week later, he was settled at
> Cothen.
> The move as a drastic one. From a worldly point of view, it
> meant promotion, more prestige, and more pay. Bach had always
> coveted the title of Kapellmeister, and for some years had needed an
> income more nearly commensurate with the demands of rapidly
> growing family. The attitude of his new patron was like a tonic to
> his flagging spirits.