Johann Christoph Bach (baptised – 31 March 1703) was a German composer and organist of the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

period. He was born at

Arnstadt Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera about south of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Arnstadt is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia, and has a well-preserved historic centre with a partially preserved town ...

, the son of Heinrich Bach,

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

's first cousin once removed and the first cousin of J.S. Bach's father,

Johann Ambrosius Bach Johann Ambrosius Bach (22 February 1645 – ) was a German musician, father to Johann Sebastian Bach. Life Johann Ambrosius Bach was born in Erfurt, Germany, the son of musician Christoph Bach (1613–1661). He was the twin brother of Joh ...

. He was also the uncle of

Maria Barbara Bach Maria Barbara Bach ( – buried 7 July 1720) was the first wife of composer Johann Sebastian Bach. She was also the daughter of his father's cousin Johann Michael Bach. Life Maria Barbara Bach was born at Gehren, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, to ...

, J. S. Bach's first wife and second cousin. Johann Christoph married Maria Elisabeth Wiedemann in 1667. They had seven children, including four sons who became musicians: Johann Nicolaus (10 October 1669 – 4 November 1753), Johann Christoph Jr. (29 August 1676 – 1738), Johann Friedrich (1682–1730), and Johann Michael (1685–unknown). He is not to be confused with Johann Sebastian Bach's son,

Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (21 June 1732 – 26 January 1795) was a harpsichordist and composer, the fifth son of Johann Sebastian Bach, sometimes referred to as the "Bückeburg Bach". Born in Leipzig in the Electorate of Saxony, he was ...

Johann Christoph had a reputation as a composer that was only equalled by that of Johann Sebastian within the Bach family during his lifetime. He was organist at

Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...

and later a member of the court chamber orchestra there. His brother,

Johann Michael Bach :''To be distinguished from Johann Michael Bach (1745–1820)'' Johann Michael Bach (baptised , Arnstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen – , Gehren) was a German composer of the Baroque period. He was the brother of Johann Christoph Bach, as w ...

(Johann Sebastian Bach's father-in-law and Maria Barbara's father), was also a composer. Some of the works were later attributed to Johann Sebastian, but were recently recognized as written by Johann Christoph. One of the most famous works is the

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

', based on the '' Song of Solomon''. His 4-part chorale prelude "

An Wasserflüssen Babylon "An Wasserflüssen Babylon" (By the rivers of Babylon) is a Lutheran hymn by Wolfgang Dachstein, which was first published in Strasbourg in 1525. The text of the hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 137. Its singing tune, which is the best known part ...

" has the same kind of expressive dissonances, with

suspensions In chemistry, a suspension is a heterogeneous mixture of a fluid that contains solid particles sufficiently large for sedimentation. The particles may be visible to the naked eye, usually must be larger than one micrometer, and will eventually ...

, as his well known ''Lamento: Ach, daß ich Wassers g'nug hätte'', a

church cantata A church cantata or sacred cantata is a cantata intended to be performed during Christian liturgy. The genre was particularly popular in 18th-century Lutheran Germany, with many composers writing an extensive output: Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, ...

for alto and strings. Despite his success as a musician, Johann Christoph experienced financial difficulties. Johann Christoph had his portrait painted in oil several times, including the well-known portrait of him that is on display in a Berlin museum. Johann Christoph was heavily in debt when he died at Eisenach. He died just ten days after his wife Maria died. Johann Sebastian Bach, raised by his eldest brother, described him in his Genealogy (, 1735) as "the profound composer", thus hinting at his reputation, not just within the family, but within society.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bach, Johann Christoph 1642 births 1703 deaths People from Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Johann Christoph German classical composers German male composers German Baroque composers Organists and composers in the North German tradition German male organists German classical organists Pupils of Johann Pachelbel 18th-century keyboardists Male classical organists

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