Glory to God Alone: the Life of J.S. Bach (2006) | Full Movie | Toni Wuensche | Connor Frakes

[Music] is for the past 250 years the boys choir at st thomas church has sung the music of johann sebastian bob this is bach's story told with words pictures and of course music [Music] our journey takes us across central germany from bach's ancestral home in eisenhower to ordruff and luneburg where he grew up we'll also trace the growth of his musical career in arnstadt mulhausen weimar curtin and finally leipzig johann sebastian bach lived from 1685 to 1750. changes revolutionized europe advances in science politics and literature affected kings and commoners alike it was an age of fine art architecture and a time of celebrating the human spirit [Music] in england sir isaac newton was laying the foundations of modern science in france voltaire wrote candide and most of germany was still known as the holy roman empire french german italian dutch and english artists were busy painting up a storm in architecture the palace of versailles set the tone for an entire age composers such as handel telemon and vivaldi were famous box day was a flurry of creative excitement rich nobles constantly tried to outdo one another they embellished clothes houses and lifestyles with ruffles and flourishes any prints worth his powdered wig had a staff of hired musicians and whether your castle was in germany or scotland french was the preferred language of the court as far as music went there wasn't much separation between secular and sacred music written and performed both in the king's chapel and in the village square glorified god and if the king shared a bit of the spotlight so be it bach felt that music was a gift of god and like luther he regarded music as next to theology in terms of its importance [Music] changes didn't affect everyone however parts of europe were still quite medieval feudal lords ruled over illiterate serfs who tilled soil they didn't own and if the prince was protestant chances are you were too johann sebastian bach was born into a large musical family he was the youngest son of maria elizabeth and johann ambrosius both a prosperous town musician here in eisennach it was here 200 years before that martin luther made his famous translation of the new testament in the wartburg castle overlooking the city bach grew up in the same town where luther grew up as a student he actually went to the same school as a boy and sang in the same boys choir so he grew up in the central lutheran region of germany and in particular in a place that had many traces of lutheran traditions the first thing that would struck bach growing up is that i'm a bach and that means that he was a musician he had to be a musician because so many uh relatives uncles cousins they were all in the music business he couldn't have avoided the business of making music in fact the name bach was synonymous with musician in this part of tarinia so i think he had good reason for feeling pride in that there were church musicians there were city musicians court musicians cantors organists instrumentalists instrument makers they were in the business of music and they inherited it from their forebears and they passed it on to their offspring johan sebastian spent his first nine years in a large house in eisennach the family wasn't rich but they weren't poor either their life revolved around family music school and the church then tragedy struck his mother dies there are some financial problems and then a year after his second marriage johan ambrosius himself dies which leaves the young mark an orphan johann sebastian watched four of his siblings die before the age of 19. then his parents died too long life was by no means a guarantee a reality johann sebastian was reminded of again and again now orphans johann sebastian and his 13 year old brother johann jakob moved to the nearby town of ordriff where the boy's oldest brother johann kristoff was organist at saint michael's church the family network was a very protective net and that helped bach grow up i think in a rather happy way the nine-year-old johan sebastian couldn't keep his hands off music even if it was locked away he used to get up at night and go downstairs and visit the bookcase of his brother the book is where the music was kept but it's kept locked it had diagonal sort of wire frame over it being a young nine-year-old he was able to get his hands in then roll up the manuscript and then pull them out unroll them lay them out on the table by the window where the moonlight was coming through and he would copy the these works because he wanted to learn he wanted to understand this music and and what you do is you copy the stuff out you understand what's going on but his brother caught him doing it and you know had to weigh the finger at him while living with his older brother johan sebastian now continued his education in ordriff's latin school he did so well and showed such promise as a student and singer that by the age of 15 he earned a university scholarship at the prestigious st michaels school in luneburg schools were basically related to the church and education was primarily religious education in the first generation after the reformation and only gradually and it happened in past time science became part of the curriculum so people understood that the world around them god's creation was tangible evidence of the power of god and the science of the creation were very visible christoph wolf in his book on bach compares bach to newton and i think that that is a very apt description and i find it intriguing that newton at the end of his life became very interested in theology himself so i think that they were trying to find analogies in music or nature for the divine luneburg was one of the best schools academically speaking so the academic training bach received in languages in science in poetics and in geography was very special he must have been a pretty lonely boy because you know no parents and as it were he was shoved off there to school because it was getting somewhat difficult with his brother and this may be the reason why he is so very keen uh it seems all through his life to be connected with the bach clan later in life he writes the genealogy of his family and notes which uncle or cousin was in which position as musicians when he was 50 he did a family genealogy and he did only male members but he uh traced the lineage from veitbach who came from hungary on account of his religion and i think it's important that he couched it in those terms he said on account of his religion and it almost takes on a biblical cast while at school in luneburg johann sebastian tapped into a thriving music scene 30 miles away in hamburg then germany's largest city the most famous organist of the time was johann adam rankin he became bach's early idol and bach traveled several times from luneburg to hamburg in order to learn from rheinkin and reinkin probably was instrumental in introducing bach to the art of organ building so that at a fairly early age bach became an expert organ scholar with formal education in luneburg behind him johann sebastian was now an educated and versatile musician he could read and write music sing play and repair just about any keyboard instrument ready to set out on his own he needed to look no further than his own backyard his first job very brief job is in weimar at the court and he was to play wearing a hungarian shirt and uniform and then when the positioning armstruck becomes available he applies for the position and gets it on two grounds one is that he is a buck and the barks were stretching way back uh connection with armstead uh it was a bark down but also and he's fairly young for quite an important position that he clearly had the ability to hold the job down as organist he had been hired originally as a consultant for the design of the organ that was when bach was only 17 years of age that's quite amazing to consider 17 year old consulting on an organ that was built by a master builder who was over 50 years armed with a new instrument and time to play it johan sebastian's talent blossomed he devoted himself to composing and performing music he played the organ three times a week in church and led a local choir that duty led to a brawl with bassoonist geyer's both came from an engagement at the castle he was wearing a sword which meant that he must have worn it as part of his uniform in court service there's a brawl nobody seems to know who started it he started no he started it we know their ages they were 22 23 24 years old and had not yet graduated bach the 18 year old organist had graduated from latin school at age 17. so there was a certain jealousy also you know a feeling of superiority on the part of bach the accusation was that bark had called geyersbach a zippo fagottis which means an idiot or an incompetent bassoonist johann sebastian had other problems with his employers in arnstadt he requested a one-month leave of absence to visit the famous organist dietrich buxtohuda that visit stretched into three months [Music] when he returned an angry congregation was shocked by the newfangled styles of music that the young organist brought back with him on top of everything else johann sebastian was unfairly accused for allowing an unfamiliar maiden to sing in the choir loft in those days women weren't allowed to sing in church now his days in arnstadt were numbered bigger better things awaited in mulehausen johann sebastian's second major post came as organist in this free imperial city it was here that he began to refine his skill as a composer writing large-scale works like god is our king since the mule house and job meant a pay raise the 23 year old was ready to wed his second cousin maria barbara bach at this church in dornheim the marriage produced four children who survived to adulthood wilhelm friedman and carl philip emanuel both went on to become famous composers in their own rights while in mulhausen johann sebastian found himself in the middle of the biggest religious controversy of his day orthodoxy versus pietism the fights between the orthodox and the pieties were conducted you know by doctrinaire theologians on either side but for people like bach there was some truth in both movements pietists saw faith as personal and life-changing the orthodox tended to be more understated and traditional johann sebastian served two churches in mulhausen one pietistic the other orthodox all bach wanted to do was glorify god with his music [Music] bach was interested in [Music] making music for the people not music for the religious leaders and i think that made a difference and i think it probably was clearly reflected in the response to his music fed up with religious squabbling and muellhausen he decided to take advantage of his growing reputation and find a new job the opportunity came as court organist back in weimar a leading german cultural center previously the young genius made do with local town musicians in weimar they were professionals [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] foreign town musicians tended to be jack jacks of all trade pick up any instrument that needed to be played and applied a court was a a more refined atmosphere the city of wymar was the seat of a duchy that meant the land was controlled by a duke in this case two dukes not only did johan sebastian have professional musicians to work with but the job was prestigious it nearly doubled his salary the best part his employer loved music johann sebastian's musical output began to blossom he experimented with the works of italian composer antonio vivaldi and wrote numerous cantatas and organ works such as christ lay in death strong bonds and the little organ book when bach was a young composer and just learning his craft he would study pieces concertos by vivaldi and he might take movements by vivaldi say violin concertos and rework them as a keyboard concerto [Music] bach is almost the kind of patron saint for church musicians all around the world he is recognized as one of the greatest composers that ever lived he spent his entire life in germany and was greatly influenced by the legacy of martin luther luther himself had been a musician declaring music to be second only to the gospel itself bach was to be the reformer's greatest musical disciple you're just blown away by the quality of the music at several levels the music makes a strong emotional impact and an immediate impact on you but the more you begin to look at it how it is put together the layering he does and how he achieves that it becomes more amazing counterpoint is a musical technique in which one voice begins and then another one takes up the same theme like [Music] then another voice will go and imitate it and then the first voice will continue on with something that works with the next voice coming in but may also contrast with it so it's a way of building a piece because you start with one voice then add another and you often add three voices you have a four voice texture and bach was just a master of this his son said that sometimes when they were standing together and a musician maybe an organist would start a theme that is a little melody on the organ he would nudge his son and say well this is what you can do with that the weimar period for bach was perhaps the most important one on his way to really becoming a great musician at this time his skills as a keyboard player are now becoming legendary he clearly is a remarkable performer and a lot of the performances are clearly his own works or improvisations johan sebastian's fame as a performer spread throughout europe this of course led to a promotion in the february of 1714 all of a sudden his title is changed in at the weimar court and his duties change no longer is he simply caught organist he is now named concert master [Music] oh [Music] listen to me some people in his era and later have criticized him for being too intellectual kind of too learned but i think it means that his music is so timeless because it has such integrity of structure whereas if you think of somebody like debussy or chopin i mean who are wonderful composers don't get me wrong but their music the appeal is is very much contingent upon the surface like the shimmering uh piano sound of chopin if you think of that whereas i have heard bach played on an accordion in a new york subway and it's still amazing i mean it just withstands the test of time [Music] there was a french organist by the name of louis marsha who was celebrated by a lot of people there was a sense of you know oh this is this french organist wonderful stuff he was in in dresden and [Music] creating quite a stir and so somebody suggested well but we got bach shouldn't we hear these two on the same occasion as the story goes bach traveled to dresden and practiced for the contest and apparently behind the door mr marchand was listening he somehow got cold feet and must have decided well this contest is not winnable so he left town johan sebastian was not only a master performer he was rapidly becoming a master composer back in weimar the now famous johann sebastian missed out on a promotion when his boss hired a relative for the court's top musical post johann sebastian's response landed him in jail he gets a new job as cappellmeister which is the highest position you can get as a musician at the court of curtin but his employer the duke is annoyed with him and so has him arrested for three or four weeks so that he will come to his senses and stay but he doesn't and eventually he's released and off he goes to curtin as kapelmeister johann sebastian was now at the top of his profession personally the 32 year old musician's family had grown as well he and maria barbara now had four children under the age of 10. curtain was a small principality an unhauled curtain compared with hale or leipzig it was a backwater on the bright side the reformed prince leopold loved music and the arts when the nearby prussian king fired his court musicians leopold seized the opportunity and hired a large contingent for himself life for the bach family in curtin began well johann sebastian worked in this castle he performed for the prince and for the church he also wrote six concerts for margrave christian ludwig of brandenburg we know them well as the brandenburg concertos sadly it was also a time of tragedy for the family returning home from a business trip of several weeks with prince leopold johann sebastian learned that his beloved maria barbara whom he had left in good health had died and been buried it is very hard to imagine the degree of shock that bach must have experienced in coming home the children probably telling him that their mother was no longer [Music] he knew a lot about sorrow his wife died when he was 35 and leaving four young children he had at least eight children die before they were age five and so his faith really kept him going and uh i think you you sense that in the music it's it can be full of joy but there's it's never glib is how i would say it and sometimes even mozart wonderful as mozart is can seem a little bit on the surface where bach is just there's always a depth there [Music] um [Music] so [Music] [Applause] yes [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] more than a year after maria barbara's death johann sebastian fell in love she was a young professional court singer anna magdalena vilken anna magdalena bach is more than a wife to bach she is his partner collaborator organizer she was a singer she understood his music for example at one point a score of the unaccompanied cello suites was thought to be in his own hand now turns out to be her handwriting it was so similar to his i think both marriages were very very happy uh there's a very touching little anecdote that he wrote a cousin saying oh i heard a little canary at a neighbor's house and i would love to get it for my wife so i just thought that was so touching from what we can tell that bach promoted the professional ambitions of his wife he took her on a number of trips later on and he was clearly very proud of her musical accomplishments [Music] in 1723 johann sebastian his new wife and growing family left curtin and moved to leipzig it was the peak of his career bach had a number of responsibilities he was employed by the thomas school so he had to teach there he also had private students he had numerous children and his son describes their house as like a beehive just constant activity and people you know knew he was famous and they would just knock on the door and he's the son said he would always welcome them leipzig's major attraction was its university johann sebastian wanted his sons to further their education and this may be part of his reason for moving here the couple of letters we do have indicate that he was very proud of his family and he loved them and he said they were all born musicians and he didn't take it for granted but if he noticed a sign of talent in one of his children that he would nurture it and encourage it and that's a theme we see again and again that you know music was a gift from god but you had to cultivate it it wasn't something you could just take for granted [Music] johann sebastian was hired as cantor or chief musician at the saint thomas church and school ironically he was the third choice georg philip taylorman and christoph groupner both turned down the job they had to make do with johann sebastian bach he kept his title as kapelmeister from curtin so he conducted his candrate in a cappellmeister-li fashion and basically became a self-styled music director of the city of leipzig it was a very challenging position he had to supply a weekly cantata for the church the saint thomas church as well as the other civic churches he had to supply music for major events in the city so he was an important figure in the larger community not just in the churches and also at the st thomas school he was overseeing the town musicians he was overseeing the other churches and he had a very commanding position for 27 years in leipzig that changed musical life in that city totally in some respects johann sebastian's leipzig post was a step down compared with curtin and weimar he no longer served in a prince's court the leipzig musicians he worked with were amateurs not professionals he not only made the most of the situation he triumphed i think if you look at the two large-scale passion oratorios that bach composed for leipzig he composed more but only two have come down to us they are clearly the culmination point in his compositional output johann sebastian's leipzig work represents one of the greatest musical achievements in the history of christendom it was in leipzig that johann sebastian wrote the saint matthew saint mark and st john passions a passion is simply a musical way of telling the story of jesus's death burial and resurrection in a worship service while only two saint matthew and saint john survived today both rank as classics put together the passions b minor mass art of fugue musical offering all monuments these pale in proportion to the cantatas wonderful wonderful wonderful music equal to anything we all have our favorite conversation about brandenburg concertos or b minor maths all matthew passion large works which i mean obviously spent a long time pulling them together but the wonderful moments within each of these works you can find in the cantatas for him composition was to be involved in the act of creation that was a pale imitation i think he would say of the creativity of god bach said and i quote the aim and final reason of all music is none else but the glory of god that's been a great example to me all my life and bach would frequently initial his blank manuscript pages with the markings j period j period which meant in latin jesus helped me and when he finished he put at the end s d g solely dear gloria glory to god alone each piece he wrote was an homage to the lord but it was not only to the lord it was also for the enjoyment of his neighbors and so that is one reason i think his music has withstood the test of time bach never really stopped thinking about music and that meant [Music] writing music even on his deathbed he was thinking about music johann sebastian continued to compose at a phenomenal rate until his last days in his 65th year following two unsuccessful eye operations the now blind master died following a stroke he left behind ana magdalena and nine children four of them were still miners in the decades following his death johann sebastian's music began to be replaced by newer more popular styles composers such as mozart beethoven and even johann sebastian's sons carl philip emanuel and johann christian called the english bach became popular throughout europe in the later 1800s bach was best known as composer of corrals and of study pieces the well-tempered clavier but this whole treasure trove of baccantatas the the passions were simply unknown and the works had not been printed with the exception of the well-tempered clavier parts one and two and the chorales they were published in the 1770s by one of his sons and by one of his students mendelssohn discovered a manuscript of the saint matthew passion and performed it in 1829 and this led to a revival of box works [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] bach's music played a major role for other professional musicians mozart and beethoven and haydn had a great respect for bach's art and of course the conditions changed the music moved away from the church and more into the concert hall especially in the 19th century so by the time that mendelssohn began to perform box music in 1829 it was a totally different context beethoven said that his name should not have been bach it should really have been mere in other words not brook little stream but ocean his last work dictated from his bed was a corral entitled before thy throne i come his prayer solely dale gloria was certainly answered he died in relative obscurity and his grave was not even marked god did get all the glory during bach's lifetime but his productivity forged a musical legacy which the great composer wagner would someday appraise as the most stupendous miracle in all of music music speaks to me more directly than anyone else's music it is the deep spirituality that box music whether it's with words or without words is really penetrating every score of bach that touches one directly and immediately [Music] in 1829 79 years after johann sebastian's death german composer felix mendelssohn performed the saint matthew passion the performance sparked a revival that has influenced the music of every generation since [Music] my [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

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Keywords: Christian Videos, Christian Films, Christian Movies, Religious Movies, Films, Movies, Entertainment, Feature Films, Johann, Sebastian Bach, Classical Music, Musical Genius, Story of, Baroque Era, Toni Wuensche, Connor Frakes, Klaus Peter Schiwek, Glory to God Alone: the Life of J.S. Bach, Special Interest, Documentary, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, CreateSpace, Glory to God Alone: the Life of J.S. Bach 2006 Full Movie

Id: Td5QKVyyzwg

Length: 43min 11sec (2591 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 09 2020