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Internet Supplements for
To the glory of God alone in the highest and to further the learning of everyone. - Bach Note to Parent:These supplements can be used before, during and after you read Sebastian Bach, the Boy from Thuringia by Opal Wheeler and Sybil Deucher. 1. Johann Sebastian Bach was very fortunate to have been born into a musical family. The Bach musicians, brothers, uncles, and cousins, were well-known throughout the Thuringian forest. Visit the following links to take a journey of the places Sebastian lived in his lifetime. Afterwards, why don't you try drawing your own map? 2. Sebastian's father, Johann Ambrosius, was court trumpeter for the Duke of Eisenach in Thuringia. He was also the director of musicians for the town of Eisenach. The trumpet that Sebastian's father played was called the Natural Trumpet and looked very different from the modern trumpet. Ambrosius was also the church organist and taught lessons for the violin in the Bach home. 3. One of the most beautiful sights in the Thuringian forest is Wartburg Castle. Built in 1070, it would be a place of protection for Martin Luther in 1521. During his stay at Wartburg, Luther busied himself translating the New Testament into German. 4. As Sebastian grew up, his father began to teach his small son how to play the violin. He also told him stories about his musical, family heritage. The first musical Bach was Sebastian's great-great-grandfather, Viet. Do you remember what instrument he played? This instrument was very popular for accompanying songs during the Renaissance. Think hard, then click here! 5. Great-great-grandfather Viet was a miller by trade. You can learn more about Viet by visiting The Bach Family. 6. Another of Sebastian's relatives, an uncle, was a maker of clavichords and violins. To produce an instrument which gives a beautiful tone when played is a difficult and involved task. Let's learn how to make a violin by visiting the website of Hans Johannsson, a violin maker of today.
7. Once a year, all of the musical Bach family would gather in Eisenach for a family reunion. One of their favorite activities was singing - and not just any songs, they loved a special kind of song. Do you remember the funny word for this song style? Here's a hint! Encyclopedia Britannica says this word means Give up? Know your stuff? Click here and find out! 8. After Sebastian turned eight, he became a member of the scholars' choir. The scholars' choir was an all-boy choir from the town school. When a boy is very young, he has the ability to sing melodies written in the soprano range. Some young boys can even sing notes higher than a woman singer. Boys choirs are just as popular today as they were when Sebastian lived. The most famous boys' choir in the world is the Vienna Boys Choir. We had the privilege to hear them sing several years ago at Silver Dollar City's Christmas Festival in Branson, MO. You can learn more about them by reading The Vienna Boys Choir: A Long Tradition. 9. A very important style of vocal music during this timeperiod was the chorale. The chorale was a hymn tune sung to a German religious text, usually taken straight from the Scriptures. The tunes were easy for the congregation to remember and sing. Sebastian would spend a great part of his life writing sacred music, an outpouring of his religious convictions. He believed that the primary reason for music should be for the glory of God and the recreation of the mind. (See footnote 1) To read the texts and hear the tunes of some of Bach's chorales, click on the individual titles below. 10. Unfortunately for Sebastian, his parents had passed away by the time he was 10 years old. As a result, he went to live in the city of Ohrdruff with his older brother, Johann Christoph. Our book tells us that Christoph was unfeeling toward Sebastian, denying him the use of musical compositions in his possessions. This might not be true. Read more about these two brothers and their relationship at Ohrdruf (1695-1700) Johann Christoph was a musical Bach also, having the privilege of being a pupil of the great organist and composer Pachelbel. Pachelbel is most famous for his Canon in D, a very soothing composition for the organ. 11. For whatever reason, Sebastian found himself in need of more musical training and was advised to go to Luneberg. This was a 200 mile walk for him and a friend named Erdmann. They had no money and very little food. One of the food items they took was black bread. Bread has been a staple food ever since man built ovens for baking. To learn more, you can read Cooky Cat's History of Bread. What kind of bread do you like? Most Americans eat bread that is made from wheat. What exactly is wheat? Look at a picture of the inside of a wheat grain and read how it is grown at The Wheat Grain. Sebastian's bread was most likely some type of rye bread. You can try making your own rye bread by visiting Allrecipes.com. 12. While on their trek, Sebastian and Erdmann passed peasants on their way to the daily markets. A peasant was a person, not of the nobility, but instead a person who toiled the ground or was a husbandman for a nobleman. In the 1800's an artist named Jean Francois Millet would become famous for his paintings of peasants. He portrayed them quite naturally, doing the labor they did daily. The paintings are quite beautiful and remind us that any work, no matter how small or boring, glorifies God when done well. 13. Do you have a pair of shoes that pinch? Well then, you can imagine how Sebastian's feet hurt from walking on the rough ground for so many days. Sebastian's shoes probably weren't like the ones you wear everyday, especially if you love to run around in a pair of sneakers. His were made of leather and might have been more like a moccasin without a stiff sole. 14. Finally, the day came when Sebastian and his friend arrived in Luneburg. And at last they found themselves at the choir school of St. Michael's. You can visit Luneburg too! See St. Michael's and many other sites at 15. Sebastian's fine musical talents were obvious from the beginning. Even his teachers wondered who could have taught him to play all of the instruments he could perform with. One day, the orchestra director asked Sebastian if he would like to play the organ. A pipe organ is a magnificent instrument with the capability of producing a large, rich sound. Some of Sebastian's finest pieces of music would be written for the pipe organ. The musical selection which began to play when you began your study is his Toccata and Fugue in d. Here are some more you might enjoy listening to. 16. The day finally came when Sebastian's voice changed and he could not sing soprano in the boys' choir anymore. By that time, Sebastian's greatest love was not singing but the organ. And so, he set out for Hamburg to hear Reinken, the great organ master of that city. You can visit Hamburg, too! 17. A few weeks after his return to Luneburg, Sebastian received an invitation to become a musician at the Duke's palace at Weimar. Let's walk through the streets of Weimar with Sebastian as he hurries to his new position. 18. As a court musician, Sebastian was expected to dress in a costume, complete with a powdered wig. Many men wore wigs that were powdered with white or colored powder. Wigs were very expensive as they were made by hand on a "blockhead." A proper gentleman never attended a social gathering without his wig! 19. Sebastian's new patron was Johann Ernst, Duke of Saxony-Weimar. If you would like to see what he looked like, click here! 20. During his vacation, Sebastian decided to visit his family in Arnstadt. Take a trip to Arnstadt with The Bach Tourist - while you're there, you might want to visit the other destinations. 21. Dietrich Buxtehude was a famous organist when Sebastian was the organist in Arnstadt. Sebastian traveled 200 miles on foot to hear him play. 22. However, Sebastian was not happy in Arnstadt. His many duties as church organist kept him from composing and he soon accepted a position in Muhlhausen. This position was short-lived also; Sebastian again received the recognition of the Duke of Weimar. This second trip to Weimar was not made by Sebastian, the second violinist, but by Sebastian, chief organist to the royal court of Weimar and his wife Maria Barbara. Maria Barbara was one of Sebastian's many cousins and became his wife in 1707. 23. During this time in his life, many people thought that Sebastian was the greatest organist and harpsichord player in the world. As you can imagine, there were lots of people who had other favorites! One of these favorites was Louis Marchand, an organist from France. It just so happened, Msr. Marchand was visiting Augustus, elector of Prussia, in Dresden. And so Sebastian was given permission by the Duke to travel to Dresden, the splendid court of the King, so a little musical contest could be held. Why don't you take a break and fly over to Dresden, too. Here's the ticket: History Tour of Dresden. Well, you already know what happened, when Marchand heard Sebastian play, he decided to leave quietly before the contest could begin. 24. After some time, Sebastian left Weimar for Cothen and then for Leipzig, the city he would spend the rest of his life in. 25. Well, we've come to the end of our musical study of Johann Sebastian Bach. We've learned a lot about him as a musician but did you know he was the father of a very large family also? He was! Maria Barbara, Sebastian's wife died unexpectedly, leaving Sebastian a widower with 4 children. Later, he would marry Anna Magdalena, who would present him with 13 more children. Let's take some time to learn about him as a person, as someone's Daddy.
More great reading can be found at: Footnotes
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