Guide to Bach Tour

Contents

Description | Events in Life History of J.S. Bach | Performance Dates of J.S. Bach’s Vocal Works | Features of Interest | Information & Links | Photos | Maps

Description

Gotha (49,000 inhabitants), a pleasant provincial town first mentioned in 775 in a document signed by Charlemagne, rose to prominence when Duke Ernst I made it his residence and built the enormous yet gracious Schloss Friedenstein. The descendants of this founder of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha now occupy the British royal throne, having changed their name to Windsor after World War I. In the 18^th century, an extended stay by the French philosopher Voltaire turned the court into a centre of the Enlightenment in Germany. Even today, the Schloß, which contains several top-rated museums and a resplendent baroque theatre, remains Gotha's cultural centre and its star attraction.

In 1717 J.S. Bach was asked to present a musical Passion at the Palace Church of Gotha, where the kapelmeister to the Duke of Saxe Gotha lay dying. On Good Friday, March 26, J.S. Bach subtitued for the fatally ill Christian Friedrich Witt. He recived 12 tallers for this guest performance. No copies of that Passion have survived, leaving us in the dark about the exact nature of the text and the music. It is also possible that J.S. Bach was a candidate for the kapellmeistership at the ducal court of Gotha.

Events in Life History of J.S. Bach

Date/Year	Event
Weimar (1708-1717)
Mar 26, 1717	Good Friday: guest performance of a (lost) passion at the Palace Church of Gotha

Performance Dates of J.S. Bach’s Vocal Works: See above.

Features of Interest	Information & Links
Schloß. Gotha House of Insurance History. Friedenstein Castle. Tower of town hall / central market square.	Tourist-Information Gotha Hauptmarkt 2 99867 Gotha Tel: +49-03621/222138 / Fax: +49-03621/222134 E-mail: tourist-info@gotha.de Stadt Gotha (Official Website) [German/English] Landkreis Gotha [German] Cityreview: Thüringen > Gotha [German] Gotha (Meinestadt) [German]

Prepared by Aryeh Oron (March 2004)

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Last update: ýAugust 24, 2004 ý21:15:44