Johann Ernst Bach [34] (Composer)

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Johann Ernst Bach [34] (Composer)
Born: January 1722 (baptized: January 30, 1722) - Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany Died: September 1, 1777- Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany
The German composer, Johann Ernst Bach, was son of Johann Bernhard Bach [18]. On January 16, 1737 he entered the Thomasschule in Leipzig and became a pupil of his uncle J.S. Bach [24]. After studying law at the university he returned to Eisenach in 1742 and deputized, without pay, for his ailing father. In 1748 he became his father's official assistant and the next year his successor. He continued to practise as a lawyer as well, and in 1756 he was appointed Hofkapellmeister 'in view of his well-known skill and musical knowledge'. He wrote the foreword to Adlung's Anleitung zu der musikalischen Gelahrtheit (Erfurt, 1758). Because of the fusion of the courts, he travelled between Weimar, Gotha and Eisenach and worked with Georg Benda on the reorganization of the Hofkapelle. When it was dissolved in 1758, after the death of Duke Ernst August, he retained his title and undertook duties in the administration of the ducal finances and worked with Georg Benda on the reorganization of the Hofkapelle. As a composer, Johann Ernst bach was abreast of the stylistic innovations of his time although, like J.S. Bach's sons, he did not exclude contrapuntal writing. His vocal works are often highly dramatic and full of effects. His songs depend on the older tradition of Görner, Gräfe and Mizler; he wrote galant melodies full of expressive word-painting with lively basses and often elaborate accompaniments. His Passion oratorio is modelled on C.H. Graun's well-known Der Tod Jesu.
Works
Vocal O Seele, deren Sehnen (passion oratorio), 1764, ed. in DDT, xlviii (1914) Cantatas: So gehst du nun; Straf mich nicht in deinem Zom; Alles was Odem hat, D-Bds; Ott Meer ist nahe, B; Die Liebe Gottes ist ausgezogen, B, ed. in SBA; Kein Stündlein geht dahin, B Magnificat, B; Herzlich lieb hab ich dich (Ps xviii), B; Mass [Ky-Gl] on Es wolle Gott uns gnädig sein, Bds Sammlung auserlesener Fabeln, i (Nuremberg, 1749) [pt.ii lost], ed. in DDT, xlii (1910) 11 motets, ARk (? by C.P.E. Bach, H865] Instrumental 3 Sonaten, vn, bc, pt.. (Eisenach, 1770) 3 Sonaten, vn, bc, pt.2 (Eisenach, 1772) 2 fantasias and fugues, F, d. ed. D. Hellmann, Orgelwerke der Familie Bach (Leipzig, 1967) Sonatas, kbd: A, B; D, ed. in NM, ii (1927); F, in Oeuvres mâlées (Nuremberg, 1755-65), vi [also attrb. C.P.E. Bach, H383-5]; f, ed. K. Geiringer, Music of the Bach Family (Cambridge, Mass. 1955); G, in J.U. Haffer, Oeuvres mâlées (Nuremberg, 1755-65), vi 10 organ chorales

Source: The New Grove Bach Family (by Christoph Wolff, MacMillan London, 1983) Contributed by Aryeh Oron (December 2005)
Johann Ernst Bach: Short Biography \| Cantata BWV 222 \| Motet Unser Wandel ist im Himmel, BWV Anh 165
Bach Family: Sorted by Name \| Sorted by Number \| Family Tree \| Family History \| Discussions
Works previously attributed to J.S. Bach
Cantata Mein Odem ist schwach, for unspecified occasion, BWV 222 (Anh. III 157) Motet Unser Wandel ist im Himmel, BWV Anh 165 [based on 3 Mvts, from BWV 222]
Works performed by J.S. Bach
Cantata Mein Odem is schwacht, BWV 222 (3 mvts.=A-165) and Motet Unser Wandel ist im Himmel, BWV Anh 165 by J.E. Bach & unknown composer - performed by J.S. Bach in Leipzig 1740's [speculation]
Use of Chorale Melodies in his works
Title	Chorale Melody	Year
Mass on Es woll uns Gott gnädig sein, SATB, bc	Es woll uns Gott genädig sein
Cantata: Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn	Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn
Valet will ich dir geben, Chorale for Organ	Valet will ich dir geben

Links to other Sites
HOASM: Johann Ernst Bach	Bach, Johann Ernst: Biography (Sojurn)
Bibliography
H. Kühn: Vier Organisten Eisenachs aus Bachischem Geschlecht, Bach in Thuringen (Berlin, 1950) G. Kraft: Bach, Johann Ernst, MGG

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