71 Bach’s petition to the Mühlhausen Consistory for permission to resign his post is dated June 25, 1708, and is printed in full by Spitta, i. 373. Bach mentions the Weimar post as having been offered to him, but bases his desire to resign the organ of St. Blasius, partly on the ground that his income was inadequate, partly because, though he had succeeded in improving the organ and the conditions of music generally, he saw “not the slightest appearance that things will be altered” for the better. Mühlhausen, in fact, was a stronghold of Pietism and unsympathetic to Bach’s musical ideals. 72 He was Court Organist and Kammermusikus. In the latter post Bach was of use as a Violinist and Clavier player. The Court band, or Kapelle, on special occasions appeared in Hungarian costume, which Bach presumably donned. His income began at a sum nearly double that he had received at Arnstadt and Mühlhausen. 73 The character of his employer, Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar, must be reckoned a factor in the development of the youthful Bach. The Duke was not only a cultured artist, but was also a man of genuine piety. 74 Though Bach retouched them in later years and wrote others, it may be stated in general terms that his Organ works were the fruit of the Weimar period, which lasted from 1708 till 1717. 75 Bach’s promotion to the position of Concertmeister had taken place certainly before March 19, 1714, on which date Spitta (i. 517) prints a letter in which Bach gives himself the title. The increase in his income early in 1714 also supports the conclusion, while a letter of January 14, 1714, written by Bach, is not signed by him as Concertmeister. It would seem that his promotion took place in the interval between the two letters. As Concertmeister it was part of his duty to provide Cantatas for the church services. Twenty-two were written by him at Weimar. See infra, p. 188, for a list of them. 76 Friedrich Wilhelm Zachau died on August 7 or 14, 1712.