Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Work

Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Work

Many years ago I determined to give the public an account of the life of Johann Sebastian Bach, with some reflections upon his genius and his works. The brief article by Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach4 and Herr Agricola,5 formerly composer to the Court of Prussia, contributed to the fourth volume of Mizler's Musical Library,6 can hardly be deemed adequate by Bach's admirers and, but for the desire to complete my [pg xxv] General History of Music,7 I should have fulfilled my purpose long ago. As Bach, more than any other artist, represents an era in the history of music, it was my intention to devote to the concluding volume of that work the materials I had collected for a history of his career. But the announcement that Messrs. Hoffmeister and Khnel, the Leipzig music-sellers and publishers, propose to issue a complete and critical edition of Bach's works has induced me to change my original plan.8 Messrs. Hoffmeister and Knel's project promises at once to advance the art of music and enhance the honour of the German name. For Bach's works are a priceless national patrimony; no other nation possesses a treasure comparable to it. Their publication in an authoritative text will be a national service and raise an imperishable monument to the composer himself. All who hold Germany dear are bound in honour to promote the undertaking to the utmost of their power. I deem it a duty to remind the public of this obligation and to kindle interest in it in every true German heart. To that end these pages [pg xxvi] appear earlier than my original plan proposed; for they will enable me to reach a larger number of my fellow countrymen. The section on Bach in my History of Music probably would have been read by a handful of experts or musical artists. Here I hope to speak to a larger audience. For, let me repeat, not merely the interests of music but our national honour are concerned to rescue from oblivion the memory of one of Germany's greatest sons. One of the best and most effective means of popularising musical masterpieces is to perform them in public. In that way works of merit secure a widening audience. People listen to them with pleasure in the concert room, church, or theatre, remember the agreeable impression they created, and purchase them when published, even though they cannot always play them. But Bach's works unfortunately are rarely heard nowadays; for the number of persons capable of playing them adequately is at best inconsiderable. It would have been otherwise had Bach given touring performances of his music,9 a labour for which he had neither time nor liking. Many of his pupils did so, and though their skill was inferior to their master's, the admiration [pg xxvii] and astonishment they excited revealed the grandeur of his compositions. Here and there, too, were found persons who desired to hear on their own instrument pieces which the performer had played best or gave them most pleasure. They could do so more easily for having heard how the piece ought to sound. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 35041
Author: Forkel, Johann Nikolaus
Release Date: Jan 24, 2011
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Translator: Terry, Charles Sanford, 1864-1936