Johann Bach

The Erfurt organist Johann Bach (1604– 1673) is the earliest member of the Bach family to make his mark as a composer. His work was overshadowed by the privations caused by the Thirty Years’ War and the no less difficult years which followed. Those uncertain times also threatened the preservation of musical works of art with the result that we possess few examples of Johann Bach’s music. Three choral works are currently associated with his name, but none of these attributions are considered to be certain. The simple, majestic motet “Sei nun wieder zufrieden” may in fact be a composition by the Arnstadt cantor and pupil of Schütz, Jonas de Fletin, and the solemn funeral motet “Unser Leben ist ein Schatten” has also been attributed to Johann Michael Bach. Finally the score of the choral aria “Weint nicht um meinen Tod” bears the initials “J.B.”, yet at the same time it is dated “1699”, i.e. more than a quarter of a century after Johann Bach’s death.