大象传媒

Donald Macleod follows Bach to his first job in Arnstadt and sees the young composer fall into battles with both his students and his employers.

Johann Sebastian Bach, who is now almost universally recognised as one of the giants of classical music, was not always so celebrated. In his own lifetime he received some public recognition but this contrasted with his regular complaints of unjust humiliations at the hands of his contemporaries and his employers. Was the composer hard done by or were these problems of his own making? In this week of programmes, Donald Macleod tries to get to the heart of Bach鈥檚 character, warts and all, through five different periods in the composer鈥檚 life. We鈥檒l be hearing from some of Bach鈥檚 most glorious music, as Donald ponders what the composer鈥檚 character might mean for our understanding of the man and his art.

In today鈥檚 episode, Donald explores Bach鈥檚 character through events in Arnstadt, the first place the composer had a proper, paid position. As Bach tries to put his first foot on the rungs of the music world, we鈥檒l hear about an ugly incident in Arnstadt鈥檚 town square and a reprimand from his employers after a long leave of absence from the town without their agreement.

St Matthew Passion, BWV 244 - 鈥淲ir setzen uns mit Tranen nieder鈥�
Vienna Boys' Choir
Schoenberg Choir
Concentus Musicus Wien
Nikolaus Harnoncourt (conductor)

Solo Violin Sonata no 1 in G minor, BWV 1001 - I. Adagio
Itzhak Perlman (violin)

Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150
Katharine Fuge (soprano)
Carlos Mena (counter-tenor)
Jan Kobow (tenor)
Stephan MacLeod (bass)
Ricercar Ensemble
Philippe Pierlot (conductor)

Passacaglia and fugue in C minor, BWV 582
Christopher Herrick (organ)

Ascension Oratorio, BWV 11- 鈥淎ch bleibe doch, mein liebstes Leben鈥�
Meg Bragle (contralto)
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists
John Eliot Gardiner (conductor)

Producer: Sam Phillips