Forkel biography

In the text, musical examples and some notes Nikolai Kopchevsky about Forkel, his book and the early publications of the works of I. Bach afterword you have just read a book, which is rightfully the first in a long row of now many hundreds of works dedicated to one of the greatest composers. Although this small book was written almost two centuries ago, it does not lose its significance in our time.

Forkel translated into Russian. The first Russian edition of this book was published in the year in the translation of E. is strange that L. Roizman in the article "To the history of the Bakhovsky Heritage in Russia" owls. This publication did not take place in all likelihood, due to the First World War; Moreover, there is no information that the participants of the planned publication E.

Braudo - translator announced in the announcement; A. Ossovsky - the editor generally engaged in the preparation of this publication. It is surprising that the editors of our leading music magazine have uncritically reacted to such a fairly sensational message. What makes this work so valuable? This is the first book about Bach, written only 52 years after his death, when it was possible with a great desire to discover many threads stretching to him - threads in the form of traditions, memories and even surviving students.

In addition, the author of the book for many years was friendly with the two eldest sons of Johann Sebastian Bach - Wilhelm Friedeman and Karl Philip Emanuel, who, by the way, were the most capable of his students. They told Forkel a lot about their great father. And finally, this book belongs to the pen of a musician, who considered Johann Sebastian Bach the greatest peak of the whole history of the development of music, which collected everything that belonged to his life and creativity, who spent all his funds for the acquisition of his manuscripts.

All this provided the Forekel Book with the authority of the original source and a long glorious life. Why did the first book about the great composer appear only 52 years after his death? Indeed, during his lifetime, I. Bach enjoyed well -fame and great authority, he talked with the largest musicians and musical writers, so it could be assumed that his death would cause a wave of interest in him and entail the publication of his biography and works.

In fact, after the composer’s death, interest in him and his music gradually decline. True, references to him periodically appeared in the press. So, in the year, his brief biography was included in the additional volume of the universal vocabulary of all sciences and arts, the most solid publication of this period was printed in the year in the Mizlera Musical Library, compiled by K.

Bach and I. Agricola. See less often, they did not mention his music and did not print his name, but when his name was pronounced, but when his name was pronounced, but when his name was pronounced, but when his name was pronounced, but when his name was pronounced, but when his name was pronounced. Usually they had in mind one of his sons. This can be explained by the fact that the death of Bach coincided with the beginning of the era of great changes both in the field of socio-political French bourgeois revolution, ideological preparation for which began much earlier than its accomplishment, and in cultural.

In music, this era was marked by a sharp stylistic coup: homophone art began to play the dominant role, more dramatic, individualized expression. The classic sonata-symphonic cycle is born and is spread. The art of strong passions, contrasts replaces strict polyphonic music, which required a long and focused attention to his perception. True, Forkel naively remarks: "By the way, both eldest sons sincerely admitted to me that they needed to develop their own style, because if they wrote in the style of their father, they would never have managed to grow to its level." But in fact, this was mainly due to the radical change in taste and style in music.

The works of Johann Sebastian almost did not remember only in the catalogs of musical shops and notation firms from time to time there were announcements of the sale of his works in the form of manuscript copies, but the cultural and historical tradition carried through this violent era of the memories that in the first half of the century there was a great musician Johann Sebastian Bach.

Especially often they appear on the threshold of a new, XIX century. So, the “Musical Real Gazeta” on July 29 celebrated the day of the death of the Great Cantor. In the same year, in the “Historical and Biographical Dictionary of Musicians” E. Gerbera published a biography of the Leipzig Kantor, see the same dictionary of the students of I. Bach and the performers of his works. In the year in the "Musical Almanac, published by I.

Reichard, we meet with an article on the significance of I. Bach and his sons, see the same almanac" Episodes from the life of Bach "see Bach appeared in the Pocket Book for Lovers for the Year, St. Petersburg. And the not -how are beginning to show interest in the works of Bach. So, in the catalog of the year, released by the music store I.The rail stab in Berlin, to the message about the sale of the manuscript copy "twice on 24 preludes and fugues in all tonality" added the following note: "Now they are announced to them - in printed form they will cost only 6 reichstalers." Nothing is known about this publication - most likely it was announced and, without collecting the necessary number of subscribers, did not release it.

But finally, a turning point in relation to Bach’s music came: in the years the “well -tempered clavier” was completely released by three publishers: N. Winter in Bonn, X. Negro in Zurich, F. Hofmeister and A. Kunel in Leipzig. In the spring of the year, the Vienna Publishing House Hofmaster and K. Bach, in fact, the meeting turned out to be incomplete and only for the clavier.

Sebastian Bach, after all, thirty years earlier, with the exception of Bach's students, would not have a desire for such work, as well as forces to learn these works and fulfill them, ”E. Gerber emphasizes in his“ new historical and biographical dictionary of musicians ”and he was right Let us recall at least the posthumous publication of the Art of Fugi, which almost did not find sales, so Bach sons had to sell boards at the price of metal in order to somehow reimburse the costs of engraving notes.

This first “full collection” included the main clavier works and was released in 14 notebooks in a record short time - in two and a half years. In the fall of the year, the publication was completed. It was printed in the form of notebooks of the transverse album format; in each notebook, parts from different cycles of printed as if "with continuations" were placed; So, for example, the “well -tempered clavier” was distributed between all 14 notebooks.

The "pure" musical text was printed without any additional editorial instructions. Apparently, therefore, the “meeting” was produced anonymously only from the year of the new publication of Bach's works undertaken by the Publishing House of Peter, began to come out with the names of editors, primarily Karl Cherni, but the actual leader and ideological inspirer of this publication was Johann Nikolaus Forkel - he recommended to include this or that essay, categorically insisted on unconditional seizures of some works, I advised to use certain handwritten originals.

According to E. Gerbera, Forkel "looked and corrected all the works of S. Bach, chased at Kunel." Forkel was preoccupied with the fate of such a risky publishing enterprise as the publication of Bach's works was at that time. He understood that his timely propaganda, awakening by any means of interest in Bach - in his biography, personality, creativity - could cause interest in this publication and contribute to its spread.

In February, he writes to the publishers: “I believe that the best way to raise the whole enterprise to a higher level and convince the wide circles of the public of its values ​​is to now or in the near future to publish a little work on the life and works of I. Since I am collecting materials for such work for more than 20 years and generally familiar with this subject as no one else in Europe, in any case, in the name of this good deed I would like to postpone my other classes already begun and take on it according to approximate models, this little work will probably take from 10 to 12 sheets.

If it is quite neatly published and is equipped with a beautifully challenged portrait of S. Bach, it will not only be well sold, but, moreover, it will serve a good service and a larger undertaking in another letter to Forkel writes: “I have a lot of hopes for this little book, since I really think that it will contribute to the greatest distribution of Yogi. Bach” Ibid. He advises to translate the book as soon as possible into English and French, “because with regard to such monumental works of art, which are Bakhov’s, you don’t have to especially count on [our] music lovers - you need to look for experts throughout Europe, and I seriously believe that this will be the only way to bring our enterprise into action and spread it” IBID.

The book was written in a very short time.

Already in a letter dated July 16, Forkel reports: “Finally, you will receive a few more sheets in it; they do not contain a very easy matter, namely the characterization of the Bakhovsky genius, so they need to be cleaned in every way; therefore, I have to delay them a little more. But in general, you can immediately give them to the press about a thorough proofreading and about the decent design of the book.

In three days, July 19, July 19 Forkel sends the last sheets and asks the publishers to expel one Louidor from his fee in favor of the daughter of Bach Regina Susanna, who lived in extreme poverty.Forkel was pleased with the seal and the design of the book. The book of Gottfried Van Svitsu, an enlightened lover of music and the philanthropist, his friend and patron of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven Beethoven, devoted his first symphony to him.

In letters written by publishers after the release of the book, Forkel repeatedly proposes to “send this little work to Livonia to Latvia. According to G. Kinsky, the veneration of Bach in the Baltic provinces was known on the basis of the contacts of Philip Amanuel Bach. Indeed, one of the last students of I. Bach, Johann Gottfried, was working in Riga after his death.

After his death, after his death. The position that he occupied for a long time remained in the hands of his direct descendants, so that the Bakhov’s tradition could be stored without interference.