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Scan 114
Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1878
65 lines. Read by computer on 18 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1BACH.
3instance, in Erfurt the town musicians were known as 'the Bachs,' even though there had ceased to be any Bach among them. Another proof of the strong family feeling (and a valuable source of information) is the genealogy of the Bach family, begun by the great Sebastian himself, but chiefly composed by his son Carl Philip Emanuel. It contains fifty-three male members of the family, and gives the origin and dates of birth and death of each, and the most important events in their lives. This genealogical table soon became circulated amongst the family, and a copy of it in Emanuel's handwriting is to be found in the Royal Library at Berlin. For an account of the Bach-literature see the article on JOHANN SEBASTIAN.
5The following table exhibits the chief members of this remarkable family, and contains all those whose lives are touched on below. The same numeral is affixed to each in both genealogy and biography.
71. Hans Bach. at Wechmar about 1561. one of two readings
81. Hans Bach, at Wechmar about 1561. one of two readings
9 | one of two readings
10 2. Veit Bach, † 1619. one of two readings
11 |—— 2. Veit Bach, † 1619. one of two readings
12 3. Hans B. 'd. Spielmann,' † 1626. one of two readings
13 |—— 3. Hans B. 'd. Spielmann,' † 1626. one of two readings
15 |—— 4. Johannes, Erfurt, 1604-73. one of two readings
164. Johannes, Erfurt, 1604-73. one of two readings
17 |—— 6. Joh. Christoph; Erfurt and Arnstadt, 1613-1661. one of two readings
18 13. Joh. Christian, Eisenach, 1644-1732. one of two readings
19 |—— 5. Heinrich, Arnstadt, 1615-1692. one of two readings
20 12. Joh. Aegidius, Erfurt, 1645-1717. one of two readings
21 |—— 13. Joh. Christian, Eisenach, 1644-1732. one of two readings
22 15. Joh. Bernhard, Eisenach, 1676-1740. one of two readings
23 |—— 12. Joh. Aegidius, Erfurt, 1645-1717. one of two readings
24 18. Joh. Ernst, Eisenach, 1722-1777. one of two readings
25 |—— 7. Georg Christoph, Schweinfurt, 1642-1697. one of two readings
27 |—— 8. Joh. Christoph. one of two readings
286. Joh. Christoph; Erfurt and Arnstadt, 1613-1661. one of two readings
29 |—— 9. Joh. Ambrosius, Eisenach, 1645-95. one of two readings
30 7. Georg Christoph, Schweinfurt, 1642-1697. one of two readings
31 |—— 10. Joh. Christoph, Ohrdruff, 1671-1721. one of two readings
32 14. Joh. Christoph, Erfurt, 1636-1717. one of two readings
33 |—— 11. Joh. Sebastian, 1688-1750. one of two readings
34 23. Wilh. Friedemann, 1710-84. one of two readings
35 |—— 19. Joh. Michael, Erfurt, 1648-94. one of two readings
36 25. C. Phil. Emanuel, 1714-88. one of two readings
37 |—— 18. Joh. Christoph, Eisenach, 1643-1703. one of two readings
39 |—— 17. Joh. Nicolaus, Jena, 1660-1753. one of two readings
408. Joh. Christoph. one of two readings
41 |—— 20. Maria Barbara, 1684-1720. one of two readings
42 10. Joh. Christoph, Ohrdruff, 1671-1721. one of two readings
43 |—— 21. Joh. Christian, 1735-92. one of two readings
44 11. Joh. Sebastian, 1688-1750. one of two readings
45 |—— 14. Joh. Christoph, Erfurt, 1636-1717. one of two readings
47 |—— 15. Joh. Bernhard, Eisenach, 1676-1740. one of two readings
489. Joh. Ambrosius, Eisenach, 1645-95. one of two readings
49 |—— 18. Joh. Ernst, Eisenach, 1722-1777. one of two readings
50 19. Joh. Michael, Erfurt, 1648-94. one of two readings
51 |—— 23. Wilh. Friedemann, 1710-84. one of two readings
52 20. Maria Barbara, 1684-1720. one of two readings
53 |—— 25. C. Phil. Emanuel, 1714-88. one of two readings
54 22. Joh. Christoph Friedrich, 1732-1795. one of two readings
55 |—— 22. Joh. Christoph Friedrich, 1732-1795. one of two readings
56 24. Wilhelm, Berlin, 1756-1846. one of two readings
57 |—— 24. Wilhelm, Berlin, 1756-1846. one of two readings
58 21. Joh. Christian, 1735-92. one of two readings
60The earliest notices go back to the beginning of the 16th century, and mention four distinct branches, of which the last only is of general interest, because it is that from which Johann Sebastian is descended. This, the actual musical branch, lived in Wechmar, a small place near Gotha. HANS BACH [1], the eldest of the Bachs, is mentioned as a Gemeinde-Vormund-schaftsmitglied there in 1561. Then comes VEIT [2], possibly the son of the former, born between 1550 and 60, and generally considered the progenitor of the race. He is said to have been a baker, and to have moved into Hungary with many other Evangelicals for protection from persecution. But under the Emperor Rudolf II the Catholic reaction gave the Jesuits the upper hand, and this caused Veit to return home and settle at Wechmar as a baker and miller. The genealogy states that he loved and practised music; his chief delight was in a 'Cythringen' (probably a zither), upon which he used to play while his mill was at work. He died in 1619. But the real musical ancestor of the family was HANS [3], the son of Veit, born somewhere about 1580, and mentioned as 'the player'—that is to say, a professional musician. He was also a carpet-weaver, and is said to have been of a cheerful temperament, full of wit and fun. These characteristics are alluded to in a portrait formerly in the possession of Emanuel, in which he was represented as playing the violin with a bell on his shoulder, while below is a shield with a fool's cap. His profession took him all over the Thüringen, and he was well known and beloved everywhere. He died 1626, in the year of the first great plague. Of Hans's many children three sons deserve mention:—
62JOHANNES BACH [4], born 1604, apprenticed at Suhl to the 'Stadt-pfeifer,' became organist at Schweinfurt, and perhaps also temporarily at Suhl. After an unsettled life amidst the turmoil of the Thirty Years' War, he settled at Erfurt in 1635 as director of the 'Raths-Musikanten,' and in 1647 became organist in the church there, thus representing both sacred and secular music. He was the forefather of the Bachs of Erfurt, and died there in 1673. His sons were Johann Christian and Johann Aegidius. (See below, Nos. 12 and 13.)
64HEINRICH [5], born 1615. As a boy showed a remarkable taste for organ-playing; to satisfy which he would go off on Sundays to some neighbouring town to hear the organ, there being none at Wechmar. He received his musical education from his father and his elder brother Johann, probably during his residence at Schweinfurt and Suhl, and followed his father to Erfurt. In 1641 he became organist at Arnstadt, where he died in 1691, having filled his post for more than half a century. With him begins the line of Arnstadt Bachs. Besides his father's great musical gifts he inherited his cheerful disposition,
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