In his periodical Historisch-Kritische Beyträge zur Aufnahme der Musik, German music theorist Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg published a letter on the differences between Italian and French music. In it, he mentions George Frideric Handel and Georg Philipp Telemann as German composers whose work, in Marpurg’s opinion, resembled the French style. It should come as no surprise that he did not mention Bach in his text; after all, Johann Sebastian never left his homeland and had no direct links to France. However, Bach must have valued the French style, which he learned both through copies of works by composers such as Nicolas de Grigny and François Dieupart, and by studying the work of Johann Jakob Froberger and others who drew on the music of French composers. He also appreciated the French art of ornamentation, as evidenced by the table of ornaments contained in the Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, modelled on embellishments employed by harpsichordist Henri d’Anglebert. Its influence can be seen in Bach’s ‘French’ Suites, which combine elements of the French and Italian styles. Johann Sebastian himself did not give the Suites this subtitle; it comes from Marpurg. According to the theorist’s above-cited letter, Italian works were closer to the melancholic temperament of his people. Bach’s synthesis of styles seems to have been justified, however, since, as Marpurg claimed, Germans can ‘capture good wherever they see it’.
Simply… Philharmonic! Project 2:
The figure of Johann Sebastian Bach is associated mainly with Leipzig. He moved there in 1723, taking up the post of cantor at St Thomas’s, and remained there for the rest of his life. Although Bach never left the German states, he was certainly familiar with the greatest achievements of the French and Italian composers of his time.
Born in the city of Halle, not far from Leipzig, was Bach’s peer George Frideric Handel. Handel’s path as a composer began in his hometown, from which, after a stay in Hamburg, he went to Italy. He then returned to Germany, before eventually ending up in England.
Connections with the Electorate of Saxony in the first half of the eighteenth century can also be found with other composers. Christoph Graupner studied in Leipzig, and the student ensemble Collegium Musicum, which gave public concerts, was founded in this city by Georg Philipp Telemann. In Dresden, the court flautist was Joseph Joachim Quantz, and the aforementioned Telemann, after leaving Leipzig, became Kapellmeister in the service of Erdmann II Promnitz in Sorau (now Żary) – a privy councillor to the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland Augustus II. It is not surprising that so many eminent artists had links to this region, since one of the finest ensembles in Europe was active at the Wettin court in Dresden at that time.
Daniel Laskowski
