BACH Johann Sebastian With his family in 1870 painting by Toby Rosenthal, from Alamy.com
Anna Magdalena Bach née Wilcke or Wilcken was a singer and the second wife of Johann Sebastien Bach. She was born on the 22nd September 1701 and died on the 27th February 1760. Anna Magdalena Bach’s came form a musical family. Her father was a trumpet player and her mother was the daughter of an organist. In 1721 Anna Magdelena was working as a singer (she was a soprano) at the court of Anhalt-Cöthen. This is where Johann Sebastien Bach had been working as Capellmeister (director of music) since 1717. They were married on the 3rd December 1721, 17 months after his first wife, Maria Barbara Bach, had died.
The Bachs moved to Leipzig in 1723. Anna Magdelena Bach continued to sing professionally after her marriage and it is thought that the Bachs’ shared interest in music contributed to their happy marriage. She often worked as a copyist, transcribing her husband’s music which she sold as a means to contribute to the family’s income. She also would complete the performing parts for cantatas to be sung in Leipzig churches. A few of Bach’s works survive only in her hand. Anna Magdalena organised regular musical evenings featuring the whole family playing and singing together.
On her marriage, Anna Magdalena became a step-mother to Bach’s children from his first marriage and she gave birth to 13 children, of whom six survived to adulthood.
Christiana Sophia Henrietta (1723 - 1726)
Gottfried Heinrich (1724 - 1763)
Christian Gottlieb (1725 - 1728)
Elisabeth Julian Friederica (1726 - 1781)
Ernestus Andreas (1727 - 1727)
Regina Johanna (1728 - 1733)
Christiana Benedicta (1730 - 1730)
Christiana Dorothea (1731 - 1732)
Johann Christoph Friedrich, the ‘Bückberg’ Bach (1732 - 1795)
Johann August Abraham (1733 - 1733)
Johann Christian, the ‘London’ Bach (1735 - 1782)
Johanna Carolina (1737 - 1781)
Regina Susanna (1742 - 1809)
From Bach’s first marriage -
Catharina Dorothea (1709 - 1774)
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710 - 1784)
Johann Christoph and Maria Sophia (1713 - 1713)
Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach (1714 - 1788)
Johann Gottfried Bernhard (1715 - 1739)
Leopold Augustus (1718 - 1719)
Apparently, after the death of Johann Sebastien Bach in 1750, his sons came into conflict over the division of his estate and moved on in separate directions. Anna Magdalena was left alone, with no financial support from family members, to care for herself and her two daughters as well as her step-daughter from Bach’s first marriage. She became increasingly dependent on charity and handouts from the city council. Possibly the only family member who helped her was Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, her stepson from Bach’s first marriage whose letters show he provided her with regular financial assistance. She died in poverty on the 27th February 1760 and was buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave at Leipzig’s St John’s Church.
Anna Magdalena Bach is best known by the two musical notebooks compiled and given to her by her husband, Johann Sebastien Bach. These notebooks served as both a family journal and a medium of instruction. It contains selections and entries by various family members over a period of time. There is a wide range of pieces in these notebooks - there are chorales, arias and solo harpsichord pieces amongst them. The first notebook of 1722 contains pieces composed by Bach himself. The second notebook of 1725 contains pieces composed by Bach but also contains pieces by other composers and friends. Some of the other composers include Francois Couperin, Georg Böhm and possibly some of his sons such as Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach. After Anna Magdalena’s death, the 1725 Notebook came into the possession of her stepson, Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach.
The Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook of 1725 is covered in green with a gold border and has two locks and a red satin ribbon. The initials A. M. B. and the date 1725 are stamped on the front in gold lettering. Later on it is thought the Carl Philipp Eamanual Bach added to the initials “Anna Magdal Bach”.
Minuet in G BWV Anh. 114
This is a piece that is included in the Anna Magdalena Notebook 1725 notebook and until 1970, it was attributed to Johann Sebastien Bach however it is now thought to have been written by Christian Petzold. It is a companion piece to the Minuet in G minor BWV Anh. 115 and the two minuets are intended to be played as a pair. They come form a suite for harpsichord.
In the late 17C, Christian Petzold became the organist at Sophia’s Church in Dresden. Bach visited Dresden and both composers knew the violinist Johann Georg Pisendel. In 1720, Petzold composed the music for the inauguration of the new Silbermann organ at the Sophia’s Church. After Petzold died in 1733, he was succeeded as organist by Bach’s son, Wilhelm Freidemann. There is a possibility that Bach could have brought these two pieces back from Dresden after visiting the city.
Anh. is an abbreviated version of the German word anhang which means an attachment or appendix.
These pieces were most probably intended as teaching material for his younger children.
Digital facsimiles of the minuets as written down by Anna Magdalena Bach are available at Bach Digital (covers not only Johann Sebastien Bach’s works but also those of his sons’) and at the website at the Berlin State Library.
Couples dancing the minuet in an 18th century ballroom. Hand-colored woodcut2, from Alamy.com
Minuet in G BWV Anh. 114 from the Anna Magdalena Bach book 1725
Character/story of the piece - considering a minuet, sometimes spelled menuet, is a social dance for two people, usually in a time signature of three crotchets in each bar. The word minuet means small, pretty and delicate. The word minuet is most probably used because the steps in the dance are quite small and short. At the time when this dance was the most fashionable, it was slow, ceremonious and graceful. The minuet became a stately court dance in the 17th and 18th Centuries. The name is also given to a musical composition written in the same time and rhythm, but when not accompanying a dance the tempo was quicker. It was be advisable to suggest to the player that they could watch videos of this dance so they can understand the character it. It was a Grade 1 piece in the ABRSM syllabus in 1994. A comment in one of the sets of notes that I possess from that year states that ‘its well-known quality means, that if chosen, it must be presented well’.
Form – binary, although each section here is of the same length. By the end of the first section the music is still in G major, it has not modulated. In the second section the music moves through A minor, then D major before returning to G major.
Main part of the music – this should occur in the final two bars however the player must remember that the dynamics for this period of music should not be too loud overall. So, that the ending’s dynamics provide an impact for the listener, the player should ensure that the fourth phrase’s dynamics peak earlier rather than later in the phrase. In the final two bars, the player should use a small ritardando to emphasise the approach of the ending.
Phrasing – there are eight phrases in total, and all of the phrases should be considered in sets of two, for instance the first phrase is ‘answered’ by the second phrase and so on. As with any piece, the player must give thought to the dynamic level at the beginning of each phrase and how the LH patterns at the ends of many of the phrases flow into the following phrase.
Tempo, time signature and rhythmic patterns – a tempo of q = 120 is appropriate; played too fast this piece sounds mechanical and lacks serenity and poise. In this piece, a pattern of four quavers is often found at the end of a bar. The second section of this piece has a feeling of development, so here the rhythmic patterns become a little more varied. There could be a danger that the quaver patterns could be played unevenly.
Touch/Articulation – this piece demands an intense and bright touch using well curved fingers and a small amount of energy into the keys in the RH. There are instances however where the LH takes on a melodic role such as at the ends of some phrases and in bars 19, 22 – 24, 25 – 27 and 30 - 31. All octave leaps should be detached, as well as those of a sixth. In the second section, the RH should be played slightly detached in some areas such as in bars 22, 23, 27, 30 and the crotchets in 31. The LH should be played slightly detached in a number of bars too. As is always the case, whatever articulation is decided on it is advisable to keep it simple and to be consistent in its application. The thoughtful application of articulation in bars 25 and 26 will highlight the two-part melody present in these bars.
Balance between the hands – generally the balance in this piece should be to the RH however the LH has an important role to play by providing resonance and foundation for the RH. In addition to this, the LH supplies the music with the cohesion between some of the phrases; without the LH at these points the music would be quite ‘static’. In some bars such as bars 22 and 23 there could be a little less balance between the hands considering how the LH is shadowing what the RH is playing.
Dynamics – the player must remember that whatever dynamic level they use must be appropriate for the Baroque Period. The player must ensure that whenever the LH has a melodic role, the first note of these patterns is matched tonally to the remaining sound from the previous note. Considering that the phrases are in sets of two, the player should consider where the peak is of each phrase dynamically. If a phrase is more forward moving in character, the peak of the phrase should be nearer the end rather than in the middle or nearer the start of the phrase.
Ornaments - this piece can be played without the ornaments and in my opinion this does not affect the impact of the music. The mordents in bars 3, 11 and possibly 30 could disrupt the flow of the music if played too slowly.
Rubato – as would be expected, this is not an aspect that should be liberally applied to this piece. Nevertheless, a very slight easing of the tempo in bar 8 just before the middle C is played adds interest to the music. Again, a very slight slowing of the tempo in bar 15 is appropriate however bar 16 must be played in correct time. In bar 24 a slight easing of the tempo helps alert the listener to another change in the melodic pattern and in the final two bars an easing of the tempo is suitable. However, the final LH notes must not be played as minims as the player may slow down so much that this is the result.
Considerations
· Some players may find it hard to play legato from a chord to a single note such as the pattern in the LH of the first bar.
· There is a danger that some of the notes of the two chords in the piece do not sound together and/or some of the notes of these chords do not sound at all.
· The player will possibly require an explanation for the two-part playing in bars 25 and 26.
· Some editions of this piece commence the music at a p dynamic level so that there will be a contrast in the dynamics by using mf/mp dynamics in bars 9 – 16. In the second section the dynamics could be more changeable to reflect the changes in the melodic patterns and key.
· The fifth phrase of this piece has an intense and flute-like quality.
· Tone control is a consideration for players in this piece.
· All detached notes should be gently detached; only lifted in time to play the following note.
· There could be a danger that the player ‘pushes’ off from any of the low notes in the LH. Here the player should use a small amount of arm weight when playing these notes and also to stay in contact with the key as it is being lifted.
· When making changes in the dynamics, a change in the LH’s dynamics can make a considerable difference to the overall dynamics.
· Spend time working on the ending, as all notes need to be released together.
References - Wikipedia