Johann Christian Bach’s autograph scores reveal his working methods, aims and aspirations, the character, humor, and dedication of a composer once regarded as a musical lightweight, a “leicht-gesinnter Mensch.” J. C. Bach allegedly claimed that “my brother [Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach] lives to compose and I compose to live; he works for others, I work for myself.” A son of Johann Sebastian Bach, who sat at the keyboard with his half-brother Emanuel, was taught by Padre Martini and respected by the Mozarts, was no frivolous hack. The autographs show a hard-working professional, a fastidious craftsman, who, like his father, refused to repeat himself even when re-using old material.
Everything touched by J. C. Bach is described in detail: autograph music, printed editions, letters and documents, bank accounts and ephemera, including concert tickets and square pianos, addressing issues of authenticity, provenance and dating, the evolution of Bach’s hand, and his techniques of composition. A new picture of his creative development emerges as composer, teacher, performer, and copyist for his father and brother. We learn how he stored and preserved his manuscripts, when and where he reused them, and what happened to them after his death. Accretions of ages are stripped away: the autographs are viewed as when Bach laid down his pen. Details such as stitching holes, watermarks, bindings, pagination, foliation, and structure lead to fresh discoveries. The chronology of the compositions is re-assessed and updated, leading to a new assessment of his stylistic development.
Bach inherited his father’s interest in calligraphy, varying his music handwriting frequently, experimenting with clef styles and layout of scores. Charting these changes elucidates the dating of Bach’s music, revealing new quirks of character and musical thought. The metaphorical cramping and crippling of the pen noted by Charles Burney became reality in Bach’s last months, his deteriorating handwriting reflecting the depredations of his final illness.
Close examination of the early sources adds new music to Bach’s worklist. The autograph of Artaserse contains an aria using a text from Catone in Utica. Cadenzas for an aria and a concerto movement faintly written in pencil were concealed until now in manuscripts in Hamburg and London. The manuscript of the birthday ode “Happy Morn, Auspicious Rise,” once thought to be assembled from Gioas, re di Giuda, is now revealed as predating the oratorio. Gioas was assembled from earlier works, including the Miserere, dating from 1756 or 1757. The structure of Bach’s operatic and orchestral manuscripts reveal how he composed them and how he dealt with the drafting of large-scale structures. The autographs are discussed in relation to other significant music manuscripts that are closely related to Bach’s original sources, some of which are lost.
Bach’s letters to Padre Martini are the most significant biographical resource. Most are preserved in Bach’s teacher’s library in Bologna, together with correspondence from other members of Martini’s wide circle that mention Bach. All are published here in the original language and in English translation. Much new material appears for the first time, including Bach’s only surviving letter in English and two new accounts of Bach’s death, one by Queen Charlotte; the other by the singer Andrea Morigi. Several documents from Italy and London are also newly published.
Bach’s two bank accounts are published complete for the first time. His personal accounts between 1767 and 1781 and newly discovered records for the Bach-Abel concerts between 1773 and 1775 are of profound importance for his career, contacts, and audience. These accounts, together with more than forty admission tickets recorded here for the first time, provide unparalleled information about the organization and social history of Bach’s public concerts. In addition, his role in the development of the piano in London, noted by Burney, is developed through the discovery of at least five instruments bearing his signature. These are described for the first time.
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