It is late autumn. The cold wind lashes the horse-drawn carriage, which moves in haste through forests, farmlands, villages and little towns. The long ride is rough and noisy; it has a rhythm and intensity of its own - a clumsy allegro con moto, played fortissimo, so to speak. The scenery, though pleasant, has something sombre about it. A chilly breeze sweeps through the windows of the moving wagon; It augments the autumnal feeling. A young man in his early thirties is on the move with his family – wife, four children and sister-in-law. He is going to another town to take up the post of bandmaster in a princely court. The memories of two recent incidents incessantly haunt the young man; the first incident is his resounding victory over a foreign celebrity; the second is his subsequent imprisonment by his erstwhile employer. All other thoughts are subsumed by these haunting memories. They torment him relentlessly. Memories of past glories seem to make subsequent humiliation all the more painful !

Around 10th December 1717, Johann Sebastian Bach arrived in Coethen to assume duties as Kapellmeister to Prince Leopold of Anhalt–Coethen. He was accompanied by his wife, four children and sister in-law. Now, he was the head of the Prince Leopold’s court orchestra (Kapelle); hence the title Kapellmeister. He was 32 years old. Prince Leopold, his new employer, was the sovereign ruler of the small principality of Anhalt-Coethen. The prince, who was 23 years old, was an ardent lover of music. Further, he was an accomplished amateur musician; a competent player of the violin, viola da gamba, clavier and a singer with a pleasing bass voice. It has been said that he often took part in the music-making by playing in his orchestra. In 1716, shortly before Bach’s arrival in Coethen, Leopold had a band of 18 competent players. Some of them were excellent soloists. He also had a fine collection of musical instruments. Leopold took a great interest in Bach and his music; He was more of a friend rather than an employer towards him. For instance, when Bach’s wife bore a son in November 1718, Prince Leopold, his brother and sister, stood as god parents for the new born infant. He was always kind to Bach. He paid him a good salary, which far exceeded what he got from his previous employer – the reigning Duke of Weimar. All this made Bach’s 5-year stint in Coethen the happiest period of Bach’s life.

Unlike Bach, who belonged to the orthodox Lutheran church, Prince Leopold belonged to the ‘reformed’ Calvinist church. Calvinism did not encourage elaborate church music. Hence, there was hardly any place for elaborate church music at Coethen. The organ at the castle chapel (Schlosskirche) was a small one, which did not suit Bach’s requirements. Further, the Calvinist church service did not require elaborate choral works such as cantatas, oratorios and motets. Hence, circumstances compelled Bach to focus his creative energies on the composition of secular instrumental music.

Bach undertook several journeys during his Coethen period, in order to further his musical and professional interests. The first such trip was to Leipzig. Almost immediately after assuming duties at Prince Leopold’s court, he went to Leipzig to inspect and report on the new organ of the Paulinerkirche, the University church. His report is dated 17th December 1717. In 1718 and 1720, he accompanied Prince Leopold on his visit to the Carlsbad, the favourite health resort of the aristocracy. However, his visit to Hamburg in October 1720 is arguably the most important journey made by him at that time. During this visit he met the great organist Johann Adam Reinken. Reinken was 97 years old and functioned as the organist of Hamburg’s great St Katherine’s Church. Bach played the organ brilliantly for more than two hours for a distinguished audience, which included the old master himself. Everyone was stunned by the genius of the young organist. Reinken, who was particularly touched by Bach’s improvisation on the chorale ‘An Wasserfluessen Babylon’ remarked " I thought this art was dead; but I see that it still lives in you" (Ich dachte, diese Kunst waere ausgestorben, ich sehe aber, dass sie in Ihnen noch lebet).

Bach’s second trip to Carlsbad with Prince Leopold lasted for about two month. He returned to Coethen in late July 1720 to find that his beloved wife Maria Barbara, whom he had left in good health, had died; she had been buried on the 7th of that month. The tragedy overwhelmed Bach. Maria Barbara was his wife for over 12 years; She was the mother of their four surviving children – daughter Catharina Dorothea, aged 12, and sons Wilhelm Friedemann aged 10, Carl Philipp Emanuel, aged 6, and Johann Gottfried Bernhard, aged 5. Now, all what the grief stricken husband could do was to weep at her grave. They had been a close and happy couple. Maria Barbara was a calm and kind woman. She was slightly elder to Bach, and was a cousin of his. Bach was shaken by the calamity; but he was not crushed. He went along with his life. It is noteworthy that his visit to Hamburg took place only a few months later - in October 1720.

Barely one and a half years after the death of his first wife, Bach married again. His second wife, Anna Magdalena, was a professional singer. She possessed a charming soprano voice. They were married on 3rd December 1721. From that time onwards she too was employed as a musician at Prince Leopold’s court. Her salary was about half of Bach’s salary. She was barely 20 years old at the time of marriage whilst Bach was 36. Bach loved her dearly. He taught her the art of clavichord playing. He wrote an anthology of keyboard pieces for her instruction. The book is known as the Little Note Book for Anna Magdalena Bach (Notenbuechlein fuer Anna Magdalena Bach ). Anna Magdalena was a good wife as well as a good pupil. She helped her husband with his music as well with the upbringing of the children. She also contributed to the family’s earnings as a singer. Eventually she was to bore 13 of Bach’s 20 children. Their’s was a happy union. A few years after their marriage, Bach wrote the following charming lines for Anna Magdalena in the green – covered music book he made for her :

Ihr Diener, werthe Jungfrau Braut

Viel Gluecks zur heutigen Freude.

Wer so in ihrem Craentzchen schaut

Und schoenen Hochzeit – Kleide,

Dem lacht das Herz vor lauter Lust

Bei ihrem Wohlergehen,

Was Wunder, wenn mir Mund und Brust

Vor Freuden uebergehen.

Your slave am I, sweet maiden bride,

God give you joy this morning!

The wedding flowers your tresses hide,

The dress your form’s adoring,

O how with joy my heart is filled

To see your beauty blooming,

Till all my soul with music’s thrilled,

My heart’s with joy’s o’erflowing.

Prince Leopold married Princess Friederica Henrietta of Anhalt – Bernberg a few days after the marriage of his Kapellmeister Bach. Unlike Leopold, his new wife did not turn out to be a lover of music, so much so that Bach gave her the nickname ‘Amusa’, which means ‘Muse - less’. She was somewhat indifferent to matters musical. As a result, the Prince’s enthusiasm for music began to wane. One could fathom Bach’s growing frustration. Meanwhile, Bach also keenly felt the need for better schooling for his growing sons. He found the schools of Coethen somewhat inadequate for the purpose. He began to think of looking for a job elsewhere. When the post of cantor of Thomasschule in Leipzig fell vacant on the the death of Johann Kuhnau in June 1722, Bach applied for the post. Eventually, he secured the job and left Coethen in April 1723.

Bach wrote a few compositions for the church during his Coethen period. His church cantata ‘Wer sich selbst erhoehet, der soll erniedrigt werden’ ( He that exalteth himself shall be abased .) BVW 47 is a case in point. However, as mentioned earlier, the vast majority of his compositions during this period fall into the category of secular instrumental music. They broadly include works for chamber orchestra, and those for solo instruments such as harpsichord, clavichord, violin and cello. The first part the Well Tempered Clavichord (Das Wohltemperirte Clavier) BVW 846 - 869, the Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, BVW 903, and the French Suites, BVW 812 – 817, feature prominently among his masterpieces for clavichord, and have been popular among pianists. The three sonatas and three partitas for unaccompanied violin BVW 1001 – 1106 and the six suites for solo cello, BVW 1007 – 1012 have a permanent place in the repertoires for violin and cello respectively. The six Brandenburg concerti, BWV 1046 – 1051, take pride of place among his orchestral music; Bach dedicated them to Christian Ludwig, Markgraf of Brandenburg. Other orchestral masterpieces belonging to the Coethen period include the two violin concertos BWV 1041 and BWV 1042, the concerto for two violins BWV 1043 and the four orchestral ouvertures BVW 1066 – 1069.

Bach wrote numerous masterpieces during his stay in Coethen. On the whole, the music he wrote was brilliant, delightful and noble; they even have their sublime moments. However,generally speaking, the Coethen works are less profound when compared with the great organ masterpieces of the Weimar period and the monumental choral works of the Leipzig period ; they do not have the same spiritual depth of the great masterpieces produced in Weimar and Leipzig. The lack of deep religious piety on the one hand and the absence of the defiant opposition to the forces of oppression ( i.e. aristocratic despots, bourgeois officialdom, clerical bigotry, etc ) on the other, seem to account for this. Nonetheless, the compositions he wrote in Coethen cannot be dismissed as trivia, even by Bach’s own high standards. The Coethen works are very much a part of Bach’s immortal legacy to mankind. They represent a somewhat different dimension of Bach’s life; Undoubtedly they mirror the happiest period in his life ; They also celebrate a warm and humane friendship between two musically inclined young men – a great musician and his ardent admirer ; they reflect an idyllic relationship, which transcends social conventions and class barriers - the friendship between Johann Sebastian and Leopold.