Don't Cry for Me for I Go Where Music Is Born J. S. Bach

To put in context "All music should have no other end and aim than the glory of God and the recreation of the soul." Bach believed that all music, secular as well as sacred, had to be inspired by god or be written for his glory. Puts his last words into context :)

His family suffered badly after he died. His wife and mother of his children died on the street begging for money. Really sullied my connection to his music.

I've told myself that too but it's small comfort. Really only highlights for me that humanity owes itself better than it provides.

Hard to explain fully. I love Bach's music, of course. Anytime I see the word "Bach" in a context outside music there's that little disappointment that I'm not hearing his music. His last wife was 15-16 years younger than him. Apparently she was a singer herself. But she must have, instead, devoted her life to him and their children. After he died (see below), she and their daughters were left, it sounds like, with relatively nothing. So it's twofold. For having contributed to the world what he did, Bach's music is highly valuable. But in his time it sounds like he didn't receive much wealth. Further, before I read about his life I figured his life must have been the kind to establish his family in a more stable place. From Wikipedia's entry about his last wife: "After Bach's death in 1750, his sons came into conflict and moved on in separate directions, going to live with other family members. While Bach did everything to educate his sons, his daughters never went to school.[4] Anna Magdalena was left alone, with no financial support from family members, to care for herself and her two youngest daughters, plus her stepdaughter from Bach's first marriage.[4][6] Anna Magdalena became increasingly dependent upon charity and handouts from the city council, ultimately relying on public begging to survive. Probably her only child or stepchild who provided any support to her was her stepson Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, whose letters show he provided regular financial assistance.[7] She died on the street on February 27, 1760, with no money at all,[4] and was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave at Leipzig's Johanniskirche [de] (St. John's Church). The church was destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II." It's all a stark contradiction to Bach's music.

Weird to have your connection to his music sullied by something entirely outside of his control. (Since he was, you know, dead.)

He died at 65 leaving a much younger wife with several underage children without much income or wealth. Unless he believed he was immortal, their lot was not entirely outside his control.

It's totally not what I believe, but that doesn't stop him from being probably my favourite artist of all time. :).

Johann Sebastian Bach most probably never said these words. Of course, there is no absolute recording of the death of Bach, so no certitude. The witnesses were few, and the Cantor was not very famous at this time, so there was no reason for anyone to produce a detailed account of the episode. Even a single account by a family member would not prove much. So when JS Bach's popularity started to grew, a century later, there was room for imagination. There are many apocryphal texts around Bach, including the Little Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach… written in the 1920s. Jesus of Nazareth's final quote shows a similar situation. He became much more famous after his death, and most of the texts we have about him were written decades later. Yet the Gospel all describe the scene of his death. So what were his last words? It depends on the Gospel. There are 3 very different accounts, with only Mark and Matthew agreeing.

I became curious about your last paragraph as I'd always heard that Jesus' last words were, "it is finished." This answer on StackExchange seems like a good summary of the issue, and concludes that "it is finished" are the last words and the other accounts don't record everything Jesus said, or claim to. Is this new information or are you referring to research that wasn't factored into the SE answer? Regardless, your main point about last words and Bach's in particular makes sense, especially given we are in an age where we care a lot about last words and seem to want to apply that standard to other ages. https://christianity.stackexchange.com/a/12542

Don't Cry for Me for I Go Where Music Is Born J. S. Bach

Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18942656

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