Honoring Classical Music Month: Johann Christian Bach-“The London Bach”

by Steven Mathews, RACC Adjunct and Library Assistant

Johann Christian Bach

September 5, 2017, marked the 282nd anniversary of the birth of Johann Christian Bach (1735–1782). J. C. Bach was the youngest son of the famous German composer, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), who is commonly referred to as J. S. Bach.

J. C. Bach studied music composition with his father in Leipzig, Germany, until the elder Bach, who was employed by the Lutheran churches in the city to provide music for weekly services, died in 1750. J. C. Bach then worked for and continued his music studies with his half-brother, Carl Philipp Emanuel (C. P. E.) Bach (1714–1788), until he decided to move to Italy in 1756, where he worked as an organist, converted to Catholicism, and wrote several masses.

Bach eventually fell in love with London and wrote Italian operas for Queen Charlotte, who named him her Music Master. It was in London during the 1760s where Bach met a very young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), who named Bach as one of his life-long artistic influences. Unfortunately, Bach died in London in much debt and the Queen had to finance his final expenses.

But Bach’s music continues to be studied and performed to this day. My dissertation discusses several of his keyboard sonatas and symphonies. His piano concertos are particularly masterful. You can hear them by looking up J. C. Bach in the Naxos Music Library found in the Yocum Library online databases.

You can read about Bach’s father (J. S.) in several books (ML410.B1 area) and check out recordings (music CDs) available at the Yocum Library and on Naxos.