Das wahre Leben des Johann Sebastian Bach.

by Klaus Eidam

Klaus Eidam verfolgt mit seinem Buch das Anliegen, Bach-Bilder zu korrigieren, die aus zahlreichen älteren und neueren Bach-Biografien und aus Forschungsarbeiten zu einzelnen Aspekten von Bachs Leben und Werk entstanden sind. Indem Eidam Bach als Person, als Komponisten und als Musiker von solchen Bach-Bildern befreit, will er die Lücken in unserem Wissen über Bach aufdecken und sie mithilfe eigener Recherchen füllen. Er kommt zu dem Ergebnis, dass Bach weder ein "musizierender Gottesmann" gewesen sei, noch ein Komponist der Aufklärung, als welcher er besonders in der Bach-Forschung der ehemaligen DDR dargestellt wurde. Er sei kein Gelehrter und kein Theoretiker, sondern ein forschender Autodidakt gewesen, für den Musik "jener Kontinent war, dessen Erforschung ihn sein Leben lang so in Anspruch nahm wie den großen Amundsen die Erforschung der Arktis". Während der Ausübung aller seiner Ämter -- weltlicher ebenso wie kirchlicher -- habe Bach sich mit größter Geduld und Zähigkeit für die Verwirklichung seiner Ideen als Musiker eingesetzt. Eidam führt materialreich vor, mit welchen Widerständen seitens der Obrigkeit Bach beispielsweise als Thomaskantor in Leipzig zu kämpfen hatte, wo er "gemobbt", ja "zur Unperson gemacht" wurde. Dass der kontrapunktische Stil Bachs schon zu dessen Lebzeiten als antiquiert gegolten hätte, bestreitet Eidam. Bach habe als Meister des harmonischen Kontrapunkts und als Entdecker der temperierten Stimmung ohnehin immer eine Sonderstellung in seiner Epoche eingenommen.

Eine Spurensuche, bei der "Lücken zu Fenstern" gemacht werden, wie Volker Hagedorn es in der ZEIT der Bach-Biografie Johann Sebastian Bach von Christoph Wolff anerkennend bescheinigt hat, ist Eidams Buch leider nicht. Eidam ist kein Musikwissenschaftler und will es auch nicht sein. Musikwissenschaftlern spricht er pauschal jeden Kunstverstand ab: "Woher er den Lehm geholt hat, darüber zerbrechen sie sich die Köpfe. Aber was er daraus gemacht hat, darüber wissen sie nichts zu sagen." Was Eidam selbst zu diesem Thema zu sagen hat, muss der Leser aus dem äußerst polemisch geschriebenen Buch herausfiltern, das eher den Titel "Klaus Eidam, ein Leben gegen die Bach-Forschung" verdiente, wenn es denn überhaupt eine ernsthafte Auseinandersetzung mit der Bach-Forschung wäre. Eine sinnvolle Gliederung, Anschaulichkeit der Darstellung und jeder Ansatz von Reflexion fallen der Polemik zum Opfer. Am allermeisten die gemessen am Umfang des Buches sehr dünn ausfallenden Aussagen über Bachs Musik. Der Schlusssatz des Buches lautet: "Tatsächlich: Er verbindet uns mit dem All." Das mag wohl sein. Doch zu unserer Verbindung mit Bach trägt Eidams Buch nur wenig bei. --Dorothee Lieberknecht

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, History

Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

No doubt, this is the best Bach biography I have come across. The amount of research Eidam did is staggering, and I'm a bit jealous of his native German language to aide him as he delved through ancient documents.

My only complaint, however, is that Eidam can at times be staggeringly arrogant. Yes, I know that he set out to debunk previous claims Bach historians had made--and he did so, hand-over-fist--but wow, the pompous way in which it was delivered at times?

That being said, this is a wonderful Bach biography, and Eidam can be forgiven his arrogance, for he has earned the right.

[Matt Redmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

The biography of Bach I’ve always wanted. This is it. The only biography of the master you need. Ignore all others.

[Owlseyes]

Eidam acredita que é possível descobrir uma outra imagem de Bach, para além daquela que outros autores formaram, nomeadamente Albert Schweitzer.

Trata-se de um autor (dramaturgo) da antiga Alemanha do Leste. A imagem tem algo de "progressista".

Eidam discorda da premissa de Schweitzer segundo a qual "Bach pertence à classe dos artistas objectivos", que não sentem a necessidade de abrir "novos caminhos". Ora, como bem defende o autor, Bach escreveu música de um modo diferente do seu tempo, e, nalguns casos, a sua música vai muito para além do seu tempo.

A perspectiva de Eidam é outra. Não é certamente a perspectiva de Albert Schweitzer ou de Philipp Spitta ou do britânico Charles Stanford Terry: teológico- protestante do século 19.

[Salvatore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Con este libro he aprendido algo que parece lógico pero que nunca había considerado: la falibilidad de la musicologia y la escritura de biografías. Eidam escarba minuciosamente entre numerosas biografías y revisa decenas de errores que se han cometido en lo tocante a Bach, lo que ha conducido a una semblanza normalizada e inexacta que irresponsablemente se ha repetido durante años. Con esta biografía descubrí a un genio descomunalmente avanzado y también me contrarié al conocer a fondo las complejas situaciones que tuvo que vivir Johann Sebastian hasta los últimos momentos de su vida. La injusticia que le acompañó es casi tan indescriptible como la magnitud de su trabajo, Eidam ha sido el investigador idóneo para dejarlo claro de un modo sistemático, insistente e impecable.

[Miss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know a few other reviewers have commented on how annoying Eidam's arrogance is but most of the time I found him to be witty and sarcastic as opposed to arrogant. If you want an arrogant biography of Bach written by a very proud author try John Eliot Gardiner's Music in the Castle of Heaven. Yes, there was definitely some arrogance in this book, but overall was hugely entertaining and I loved the way he writes. It's an excellent translation and very very enjoyable to read.

I know for a fact that Eidam of course makes mistakes but still. He paints a nice picture of Bach, patient and beloved by his students, which is a far cry from the way other authors portray him, boring at best and irascible at worst. There is so much good information on the Leipzig years (1723-1750) which I really enjoyed, and he tells some funny stories. Definitely not scholastic or hard to read at all.

A good book, if you're an open minded person you will enjoy it, and it may change your views on who Bach really was.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

The True Life of J S Bach, by Klaus Eidam, is a lively, opinionated and altogether different view of this remarkable composer, in which Eidam often lambastes former biographers. Gone is the difficult man who couldn’t get on with his employers; Bach was a genius who produced works of extraordinary beauty while being imposed upon by petty, money-focused bureaucrats. Bach isn’t seen as a saint, but as a vibrant, tireless man who wrote music whether people wanted it or not, producing some of the Western world’s greatest compositions in the process, and showing time and again what a gift he was to humanity.

[Nathael · Rating 4 out of 5]

La investigación está bien realizada y sustentada, mantiene una buena proporción entre su vida, la música, contexto histórico, comentarios de terceros.
A pesar de que puede que no sea una una historia de vida muy llamativa, pues se encarga de evitar mitos de su vida, está escrito con una prosa que no es pesada.Tiene algunos datos interesantes.

[Christopher Gould · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely thought this biography was very good and illuminated quite a bit about Bach’s life, which was a lot harder than I had imagined. On occasion, I found the author’s zeal in refuting previous biographer’s theories to be somewhat tedious - his writing in that regard is a bit didactic and patronizing.

[Stan Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eidam is extremely well informed and the books adds a lot of details and facts to the yet-know life of JS Bach, but because of his knowledge, Eidam is also a bit harsh towards other writers / academics that have studied the life of Bach, which makes him a bit of an annoying Mr Know-it-all.

[Yui Inoue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bach’s life was rich and inspiring. Somehow he found time to: use blank paper and draw his own staff lines--in ink--then compose over 1,000 compositions. Bach actually walked over 200 miles to check out another composer. Amazing life, very inspiring. The writing is clear and informative. Highly recommend.

[Joaquin Gonzalez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enfatiza mucho el entorno laboral de Bach, sin tratar a fondo otros detalles biográficos.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Offered a lot of great facts and information but the writing style was not my cup of tea.

[Hortensia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitivamente un buen libro.
En algunas partes me costó mucho porque no soy una entendida de la música, la disfruto y mucho y no puedo estar sin ella, pero no sé de notas ni de escalas ni de todas las cosas técnicas que en la música se encierran.
Disfruté mucho las partes donde se habla propiamente de la vida de él. Sufrí con cada desplante que el Sr. Bach sufrió y me enojé con todos aquellos que lo humillaron, lo sobajaron y que lo olvidaron. Me compadecí de su viuda y sus hijas "solteronas" y ahora me emociona mucho más escuchar su música porque sé lo que le costó (física, moral y emocionalmente) hacerla y también sé que la hizo porque en verdad amaba y necesitaba expresar su arte.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! Makes me chuckle just to think about it. Very finely researched biography that seems to have as its not so subtle subtext a rebuttal of Spitta and the other so-called authoritative biographers of the maestro, who have apparently characterized Bach as quite a curmudgeon.

"He who does not lose his mind over certain things has none to lose." - Countess Orsina (from a contemporary playwright Gotthold Ephraim Lessing)

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

There isn't anything terribly fascinating about J.S. Bach's life, but this is a good biography and required reading for any fan. I do remember having historical qualms when the book discussed his lute music, but I don't remember what they were.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

the author's comparisons of how much better he understood Bach than prior biographers was annoying

[Nupur Tustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historians, unfortunately, aren't presented with facts. So much of history is simply the best possible interpretation of the few facts at one's disposal. But Eidam shows us that asking the right questions can lead the way the truth. It's helpful to read Forkel's biography to acquaint oneself of the basic facts of Bach's life before going on to read Eidam's book.

As a musician and an organist, Eidam brings added depth to his biography of Bach. Armed with his knowledge of music, Eidam takes a closer look at council minutes and records to not only flesh out Bach's life, but to correct some of the misconceptions and misinterpretations that other musicologists have passed down to us.

Throughout, Eidam shows us the rationale behind his interpretations, convincing us that here indeed we have the true life of Johann Sebastian Bach.