re: J.S. Bach in the House

[jerry and judy <jerbidoc@zianet.com>]

 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.