A Son of Johann Sebastian Bach
A . . . difficult and, in the end, tragic case was Johann Gottfried Bernhard, [Bach's first wife] Maria Barbara’s third son, doubtless an intelligent young man and a gifted
musician but also an apparent ne’er-do-well.
After graduating from [Leipzig's] St. Thomas School in 1735, he applied for the
organist post at St. Mary’s in Muehlhausen.
Johann Sebastian had learned that his former colleague Johann Gottfried
Hetzehenn had died that April, and using his long-established connections and
writing directly to the [mayor], Bach managed to get his son scheduled for an
audition. Early June saw both father and
son traveling to Muehlhausen, where Bernhard auditioned for the opening and was
elected for the job by the town council on June 16. Meanwhile, Bach had offered free [!] advice on
the rebuilding of the organ at St. Mary’s, under contract with Johann Friedrich
Wender and his son Christian Friedrich.
Then, on the evening of the organist election, Bach and his son were
wined and dined by the town council.
source: S: Christoph Wolff, Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician (New York: Norton,
2000), p. 399.
posted by Stahlkes @ 10:46 AM
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