Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and WorkForkel, Johann Nikolaus
History
Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Work
Forkel, Johann Nikolaus
Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750; Composers -- Germany -- Biography
83 Jean-Baptiste Volumier, an acquaintance of Bach, according to Spitta
(i. 583). Eitner, _Quellen Lexikon._ says that he was born in Spain
and educated in France. Grove’s _Dictionary_ declares him a
Belgian. In 1709 he was appointed Concertmeister to the Saxon
Court. He died at Dresden in 1728.
84 It is more probable that Bach was at Dresden either expressly to
hear Marchand or upon one of his autumn tours.
85 Some years earlier Flemming had witnessed Handel’s triumphant
descent on the Saxon Court, but had failed to establish friendly
relations with him. See Streatfield’s _Handel_, p. 87.
86 The article on Marchand in Grove gives a different version of the
affair, based upon Joseph Fétis (1784-1871). According to this
story of the event, Bach, summoned from Weimar, attended Marchand’s
concert incognito, and after hearing Marchand perform, was invited
by Volumier to take his seat at the Clavier. Bach thereupon
repeated from memory Marchand’s theme and variations, and added
others of his own. Having ended, he handed Marchand a theme for
treatment on the Organ and challenged him to a contest. Marchand
accepted it, but left Dresden before the appointed hour.
87 The Prince was brother-in-law of Duke Ernst August of Saxe-Weimar.
Bach was, therefore, already known to him and showed the greatest
regard for him both at Cöthen and after he had left his service.
88 The reason for Bach’s migration from Weimar to Cöthen was his
failure to obtain the post of Kapellmeister at the former Court upon
the death of Johann Samuel Drese in 1716. The post was given to
Drese’s son. On August 1, 1717, just before or after his Marchand
triumph, Bach was appointed Kapellmeister to the Court of Cöthen.
Duke Wilhelm Ernst refused to release him from his engagement, and
Bach endured imprisonment from November 6 to December 2, 1717, for
demanding instant permission to take up his new post. Probably his
last work at Weimar was to put the _Orgelbüchlein_ into the form in
which it has come down to us (see articles by the present writer in
_The Musical Times_ for January-March 1917).
With his departure from Weimar in 1718 Bach left behind him the
distinctively Organ period of his musical fertility. Though his
compositions were still by no means generally known, as a player he
held an unchallenged pre-eminence.
89 He was appointed to Cöthen on August 1, 1717, and was inducted at
Leipzig on May 31, 1723.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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