Johann Christoph Bach (6 December 1642 – 31 March
1703) was a German composer and organist of the Baroque
period. He was born at Arnstadt, the son of Heinrich
Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach's great uncle, hence he was
Johann Sebastian's first cousin once removed. He was
also the uncle of Maria Barbara Bach, J.S. Bach's first
wife. He is not to be confused with Johann Sebastian
Bach's son, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach.
Johann Christoph had a reputation as a composer that
was only equal...(+)
Johann Christoph Bach (6 December 1642 – 31 March
1703) was a German composer and organist of the Baroque
period. He was born at Arnstadt, the son of Heinrich
Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach's great uncle, hence he was
Johann Sebastian's first cousin once removed. He was
also the uncle of Maria Barbara Bach, J.S. Bach's first
wife. He is not to be confused with Johann Sebastian
Bach's son, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach.
Johann Christoph had a reputation as a composer that
was only equalled by that of Johann Sebastian within
the Bach family during his lifetime. He was organist at
Eisenach and later a member of the court chamber
orchestra there. His brother, Johann Michael Bach
(Johann Sebastian Bach's father-in-law and Maria
Barbara's father), was also a composer. Some of the
works were later attributed to Johann Sebastian, but
were recently recognized as written by Johann
Christoph. One of the most famous works is the cantata
Meine Freundin, du bist schön, based on the Song of
Solomon. His eldest son, Johann Nicolaus Bach, was also
a composer.
Despite his success as a musician, Johann Christoph
experienced financial difficulties, which may have
resulted in his not having been selected as the
guardian of Johann Sebastian when the latter's parents
died. Johann Christoph was heavily in debt when he died
at Eisenach.
Sebastian Bach described him in his Genealogy (1735) as
"the profound composer", thus hinting at his
reputation, not just within the family, but within
society.The alto lament Ach, dass ich Wassers gnug
hätte was included, along with two arias, in the
Altbachisches Archiv, the collection of works by his
predecessors-within-the-clan passed down to Emanuel
Bach by his father. This collection was very nearly a
victim of the Second World War (though an edition of
sorts had been published in 1935 to mark the 250th
anniversary of Sebastian’s birth) but was fortunately
rediscovered in Kiev in 1999 and has now been returned
to Berlin. Ach, dass ich Wassers gnug hätte has a
companion in the bass lament Wie bist du denn, o Gott.
Both bear the title Lamento, both are for solo voice,
both involve a solo violin, intensely expressive in
support of the alto, impressively virtuosic against the
bass. Both make use of the rich sonority of a
supporting group of violen, marked optional (in one
source) in the alto lament but clearly essential in the
one for bass. Both are based on Biblical texts:
Jeremiah, Psalm 38 and Lamentations for the alto, a
metrical paraphrase of passages from the Penitential
Psalms for the bass. Both have been previously ascribed
to other composers: Heinrich Bach (Johann Christoph’s
father) in the case of Ach, dass ich Wassers gnug
hätte, Johann Philipp Krieger for Wie bist du denn, o
Gott, but both have been convincingly welcomed back to
the canon of J C Bach’s works by modern
scholarship.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Christoph_Bach).<
br>
Although originally composed for voice, period strings
& continuo, I created this Interpretation for English
Horn & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
