Johann Christoph Bach (22 February 1645 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 i ...

– in

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 ...

) was a German musician 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 the third son of Christoph Bach and the twin brother of

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 Joha ...

. At the age of 16, he was orphaned due to the death of his father and was sent to Erfurt to live with his uncle Johannes Bach. Shortly thereafter, Johann was appointed to the town band his father had belonged to. In 1671, Johann Christoph received an appointment as court violinist at the Arnstadt court. Disputes arose within the Stadmusikus Gräder (city musicians) due to Bach's frequent tendency to anger the older musicians, and he was promptly fired. Shortly after, the sovereign Anton Günther I died, which induced a ban on all public music. Bach found himself in great need. However, at the beginning of 1682, he was reinstated at court by the new ruler Count Günther von Schwarzburg - Arnstadt. He was the uncle of

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 ...

, and is credited with introducing him to the organ. He married Martha Elisabeth Eisentraut (1654-1719). In 1693, Johann died at age 48. The funeral aria ''Nun ist alles überwunden'' is commonly attributed to him.

References

German classical composers German male composers German Baroque composers

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. ...

1645 births 1693 deaths Musicians from Erfurt 17th-century classical composers Twin musicians German twins {{Germany-composer-stub