Bach FAQ 92
Is It True That Johann Sebastian Bach Was in Prison Once?..
Yes, Johann Sebastian Bach was in prison for four weeks in Weimar. No "ifs and buts"..
How did this come about? First, it is important to note that during Johann Sebastian Bach’s time, people were not free everywhere in what is now Germany. They were free if they lived as citizens in free imperial cities. In other cities and communities, however, they did not merely live and work; they were, in fact, the property of the ruler. In our case, that was the Duke of Weimar..
Bach worked for Duke Ernst in Weimar for about nine years. And he was eventually appointed concertmaster. But he was passed over for promotion to music director of the ducal orchestra. That sort of thing happened back then, too. Bach was never an easy person. When he was also obviously treated unfairly, he never hesitated to complain. Not earlier in Arnstadt, nor later in Leipzig..
Bach was deeply troubled by this unfairness. How he must have felt. History later proved all too clearly that Bach was more qualified than any other musician on earth. Moreover, in his opinion, it was “his turn.” Even at that time, initial contacts had been made with Köthen ... and with the ruler there. So Bach decided to move on to Köthen ... which meant leaving Duke Ernst. He had even already signed the contract for the position in Köthen..
He didn’t ask his employer ... and even more so, his owner ... until after the fact. In writing. But the latter simply didn’t reply. And so “Bach was stuck”. Just setting off on his own was risky back then. The Duke’s soldiers wouldn’t have let Bach go. But Bach didn’t want to stay either. So he asked for a personal meeting. The ruler, however, refused to grant him an audience. Of course ... Bach was upset about this. After all, he wanted to move to Köthen. The duke, on the other hand, didn’t really want to let the star musician go..
Eventually, Bach spoke so harshly about his prince that the duke had Bach arrested. He had him imprisoned for a full four weeks. The reason: “stubbornness”. After a month, Bach was finally released. He was sent away without honor..
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