Johann Christoph Bach
{{short description|German composer and organist}}
{{Other people|Johann Christoph Bach}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Johann Christoph Bach
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Johann Christoph Bach.jpg
| image_upright =
| birth_date = {{birth-year|1642}}
| birth_place = Arnstadt
| death_date = {{death date and age|31 March 1703|1642|df=y}}
| death_place = Eisenach
| occupation = {{ubl| Composer | Organist }}
}}
Johann Christoph Bach (baptised {{OldStyleDate|18 December|1642|8 December}} – 31 March 1703) was a German composer and organist of the Baroque period. Johann Christoph was an older cousin of Johann Sebastian Bach who would later describe him in his Genealogy ({{lang|de|Ursprung}}, 1735) as "the profound composer", suggesting a solid reputation not only within the family but also in wider musical society.{{cite book |last1=Gardiner |first1=John Eliot |title=Music in the Castle of Heaven: A Portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach |date=2014 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0141977591 |pages=64–79}} He is not to be confused with Johann Sebastian Bach's son, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach.{{cite Grove|title=Bach, Johann Christoph|first=Christoph|last=Wolff|author-link=Christoph Wolff|doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.6002278189}}
Biography
=Early life and family connections=
Johann Christoph was born at Arnstadt, the son of Heinrich Bach and a first cousin of J.S. Bach's father Johann Ambrosius Bach. This made Johann Christoph J.S. Bach's first cousin once removed. Furthermore, Johann Christoph was the uncle of Maria Barbara Bach, J. S. Bach's second cousin and first wife.
=Marriage and offspring=
Johann Christoph married Maria Elisabeth Wiedemann in 1667. They had seven children, including four sons who became musicians:{{cite book |last1=Wolff |first1=Christoph |title=The New Grove Bach Family |date=1980 |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |isbn=0-393-30088-9 |pages=10–15}} Johann Nicolaus (10 October 1669 – 4 November 1753), Johann Christoph Jr. (29 August 1676 – 1738), Johann Friedrich (1682–1730), and Johann Michael (1685–unknown).
File:Bach ach dass ich wassers.jpg of the Lamento: Ach, daß ich Wassers g'nug hätte, University of Uppsala]]
=Career=
Johann Christoph Bach was organist of St George's church at Eisenach, the capital of the Dukes of Saxe-Eisenach. He was also employed as a member of the Ducal court. Perhaps his best known works are the cantata {{lang|de|Meine Freundin, du bist schön}}, based on the Song of Solomon; the 4-part chorale prelude "An Wasserflüssen Babylon"; the motet Lieber Herr Gott, wecke uns auf; and Lamento: Ach, daß ich Wassers g'nug hätte, a church cantata for alto and strings.{{cite book|title=The Routledge Research Companion to Johann Sebastian Bach|editor-first=Robin A. |editor-last=Leaver|publisher=Taylor & Francis| year=2017|isbn=9781409417903|chapter=The Alt-Bachisches Archiv|first=Steven|last=Rose|pages=213–236}}
Despite his steady employment as a musician he was heavily in debt when he died at Eisenach. He died just ten days after his wife Maria died.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commonscat}}
- {{IMSLP|id=Bach, Johann Christoph|cname=Johann Christoph Bach}}
- {{ChoralWiki}}
- [https://andrewpink.org/johann-christoph-bach-chorale/ Johann Christoph Bach: Chorale Preludes]: play-list. Andrew Pink. Online resource accessed 19 April 2023.
- {{YouTube|id=bZGZRzk-E3U|title=Lamento "Ach, dass ich Wassers g'nug hätte"}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bach, Johann Christoph}}
Category:People from Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Category:German male classical composers
Category:German Baroque composers
Category:Organists and composers in the North German tradition
Category:German classical organists
Category:Pupils of Johann Pachelbel