Johann Bernhard Bach (23 May 1676 – 11 June 1749) was a German composer, and second cousin of J. S. Bach.Smith, Timothy A "Johann Bernhard Bach 1676-1749" Northern Arizona University. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
Life
Johann Bernhard Bach was born in
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits in ...
in 1676, in the house named "Zu den drei Rosen" (The Three Roses) on Junkersand Street, and was baptized on 25 November 1676 in Erfurt's '' Kaufmannskirche'' (Merchant's Church). He (like his younger brother Johann Christoph, born in 1685) received his early musical tuition from his father, Johann Aegidius Bach. After attending the ''Schola Mercatorum'' at Erfurt, he entered Erfurt's major secondary school at that time, the ''Ratsgymnasium''. As early as 1695, at the age of 18, he became the
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...
at the Kaufmannskirche. In 1699, he moved to
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...
where he was appointed organist for St Catharine's Church. In 1703,
John William III, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach
John William III, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach (17 October 1666 – 14 January 1729), was a duke of Saxe-Eisenach, and came from the Ernestine line of the House of Wettin.
Life
John William III was born in Friedewald, the third son of John George ...
called him to
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 ...
to serve as harpsichordist at the ducal court. In Eisenach, he also became the organist at St George's Church, succeeding his uncle
Johann Christoph Bach
Johann Christoph Bach (baptised – 31 March 1703) was a German composer and organist of the Baroque period. He was born at Arnstadt, the son of Heinrich Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach's first cousin once removed and the first cousin of J.S. ...
.
From 1708 to 1712, Johann Bernhard Bach worked together with
Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hild ...
who held, first, the position of the leader of the violin section, and, from August 1709, that of a conductor (''Kapellmeister'') at Eisenach's ducal orchestra.
On 6 August 1716, Johann Bernhard Bach married Johanna Sophia Siefer. Three children were born into the family.
In 1741, the ducal orchestra was dissolved, which meant that Johann Bernhard continued to work exclusively as choirmaster and organist, until his death, apparently still receiving the ducal allowance of 100 Thalers per year.
Johann Bernhard kept a life-long friendship with his famous cousin
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 wo ...
. In 1715, he acted as godfather for Johann Sebastian's son Johann Gottfried Bernhard, whilst Johann Sebastian became godfather to Johann Bernhard's eldest son Johann Ernst in 1722. This latter was to succeed his father Johann Bernhard as organist at St George's Church in Eisenach.
Bach died in 1749 at the age of 73
Work
Most of his musical output has been lost, but amongst his surviving music there are four orchestral suites. It is known that J.S. Bach had individual parts prepared for performance by his orchestra.
His musical style has been described as being similar to that of
Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hilde ...
.
The surviving orchestral suites (
overture
Overture (from French language, French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Be ...
s) are as follows:
*Suite No. 1 in G minor
*Suite No. 2 in G major
*Suite No. 3 in E minor
*Suite No. 4 in D major
They are thought to have been written before 1730.
Surviving keyboard music:
*Fantasia in C minor (originally thought to have been composed by J.S. Bach as BWV 919)
*Chaconne in A major
*Chaconne in B-flat major
*Chaconne in G major
*Chorales for organ
**"Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ"
**"Nun freut euch lieben Christen g'mein"
**"Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her"
Two fugues composed by Johann Bernhard Bach also survive.
* Siegfried Orth: ''Zu den Erfurter Jahren Johann Bernhard Bachs (1676-1749)''. in: Bach-Jahrbuch, 57, 1971,
*
Konrad Küster
Konrad Küster (born 11 March 1959) is a German musicologist.
Born in Stuttgart, Küster studied musicology, Medieval and Modern History and Comparative Regional Studies at the Eberhard Karls University Tübingen and received his doctorate in ...
Peter Wollny
Peter Wollny (born 29 June 1961) is a German musicologist, a Bach scholar who has served the Bach Archive Leipzig beginning in 1993, and as its director from 2014. Wollny has contributed to the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, and has been an editor of '' Ca ...
, Ernest Warburton,
Martin Geck
Martin Geck (19 March 1936 – 22 November 2019) was a German musicologist. He taught at the Technical University of Dortmund. His publications concerned a number of major composers. Among the composers in whom he specialised was Johann Sebastia ...