"The kind Prince Leopold presented me with the bridal crown and took part in our wedding feast with great pleasure, for eight days later he was to take the charming princess of Anhalt-Bernburg to the altar."
These are the words of Anna Magdalena Bach, Johann Sebastian's second wife, after the ceremony of their marriage on 21 December 1721 at Bach's house, willingly attended by 'the gracious prince'. The 'charming princess' will indeed marry the prince the following week, but she will not turn out to be as charming as Anna Magdalena assumed, in the rapture of the moment.
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| Leopold von Anhalt-Köthen (1694 - 1728) |
Four years earlier Johann Sebastian had entered the provincial court of Anhalt-Köthen, ruled by Prince Leopold, who was nine years younger than Bach and a great music lover, as well as an excellent singer and player of the violin, harpsichord, and viola da gamba. Although since 1595 the official religion of the principality was Calvinist, the prince had been educated by his mother in the more orthodox Lutheran faith. Thus, the musical chapel he managed to form was almost exclusively oriented towards the production of secular music, since religious – Calvinist – music was all but excluded.
Despite Bach's deep religiosity, these circumstances were to his advantage, as they allowed him to devote his time almost exclusively to the creation of instrumental music, adding to his catalog perhaps the most famous works in the genre, born during his stay in Köthen. Highly paid, moreover, everything was going swimmingly for Johann Sebastian until the enchanting princess arrived.
The "non-muse" girl
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| Frederica Henrietta von Anhalt-Köthen 1702 - 1723 |
According to Anna Magdalena, Bach had decided to spend the rest of his days with her in Köthen. But no one expected that Leopold's cousin, Princess Frederica Henrietta of Anhalt-Bernburg, freshly converted in Frederica Henrietta of Anhalt-Köthen, would soon reveal a very unattractive side of her personality.
The princess was absolutely a-musical. In Bach's own words, she was a "non-muse", indifferent if not an enemy of music and any other form of culture. As if that were not enough, she was able to attract her husband to her modus vivendi, alienating the passionate music lover Leopold from his musicians and, of course, from his kapellmeister Bach.
The princess was absolutely a-musical. In Bach's own words, she was a "non-muse", indifferent if not an enemy of music and any other form of culture. As if that were not enough, she was able to attract her husband to her modus vivendi, alienating the passionate music lover Leopold from his musicians and, of course, from his kapellmeister Bach.
Johann Sebastian left this "cold atmosphere" where "there is no longer any place for a musician" in 1723, heading for Leipzig. Although perhaps the maestro was a little hasty, because poor Henrietta died that same year, barely 21. (Leopold followed shortly afterward, in 1728, a few days before his 34th birthday).
Production of the period - Concerto for two violins
As already noted, the six years Bach spent at the small court of Köthen were remarkably productive. Besides several sonatas for violin, cello and flute, as well as suites and inventions for keyboard, the first book of the Well-Tempered Clavier and no less than the six Brandenburg concertos date from these years.
In terms of music for violin and orchestra, the three surviving concertos for the instrument are registered, the most famous of them written for two violins, and presented here in an immaculate rendition by soloists Arabella Steinbacher and Akiko Suwanai.
Movements
Written for two violins, strings and continuo, the work is a tributary of the Italian model in fashion, or, more precisely, of the Vivaldian model, with its three-beat fast-slow-fast structure and the usual dialogue between soloists and orchestra. Nevertheless, faced with the need to emphasize the ability of the soloists, Bach substantially reduced the contribution of the string orchestra, which is evident in the Largo, where the entire protagonism is left to the two soloists to configure one of Bach's most sublime slow movements.
00 Vivace
03:54 Largo ma non tanto
10:29 Allegro
The work has been featured as incidental music in several films. Incidentally, Woody Allen was no stranger to this trend when he incorporated the First Movement into his 1986 film, Hannah and Her Sisters.
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