We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Johann Philipp Bach and the Aria Scotese con Variazzione: Twilight of the Bach Dynasty?
- Authors
CRIST, STEPHEN A.
- Abstract
Johann Philipp Bach (1752-1846), the last surviving musician in the Bach family, was organist and painter at the court in Meiningen, where his grandfather, Johann Ludwig, had served as Kapellmeister. A manuscript containing a set of variations for cello and harpsichord, acquired by the Riemenschneider Bach Institute (RBI) in 2016, apparently preserves Johann Philipp's only known composition. Based on comparison of the script used in this source--for the title, tempo and expression markings, and attribution ("J. P.Bach")--with samples of Johann Philipp's handwriting in other documents, it is evident that the RBI score is not an autograph. The anonymous copyist, however, clearly thought that this piece was composed by Johann Philipp. The manuscript's physical appearance, including its watermark, suggests that it originated in England around 1800. Other features that link the manuscript to Britain include anglicization of the Italian word "Scozzese" in the title, use of the French word "Clavecin" to designate the harpsichord part, and use of a traditional Scottish tune as its theme. The piece is similar to sets of keyboard variations by Thomas Hamly Butler and John Ross, both of whom worked in Scotland, and it also bears comparison with Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations. It has not yet been possible to verify claims that Johann Philipp visited London in the 1790s. But a considerable body of evidence demonstrates the importance of the cello in the musical life of Meiningen. This includes the fact that one of the reigning dukes, Karl Wilhelm, was a cellist. The cello virtuoso Johann Jacob Kriegk, a near contemporary of Johann Philipp, served as chamber musician and concertmaster in Meiningen. There may be a connection between the last movement of Kriegk's Cello Sonata in D Major, an "Arioso con Variazioni," and the Aria Scotese con Variazzione. Based on the evidence available at present, it cannot be demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt that this piece was composed by Johann Philipp Bach. Despite the remaining questions, however, attempting to explain away its clear and unambiguous attribution seems more problematic than accepting the prospect that it might well be the swan song of the musical Bach family.
- Subjects
BACH, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750; CELLO sonatas; ARIA; HARPSICHORD music; CELLO; HARPSICHORD
- Publication
Bach: Journal of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute, 2020, Vol 51, Issue 2, p186
- ISSN
0005-3600
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.22513/bach.51.2.0186