Original subtitles

(footstep thudding)

(dramatic orchestral music)

- [Narrator] On February 20, 1695,

Johann Ambrosius Bach, father of Johann Sebastian,

passes away in Eisenach.

(singing in foreign language)

The year is 1696.

After his father's funeral,

which comes only months after his mother's burial,

at the age of 10, little Johann Sebastian Bach

leaves Eisenach, leaving behind the impression

of being a brilliant pupil.

His older brother, Johann Cristoph,

will take him under his wing.

(light violin music)

- [Narrator] The presence of the booklets in the cupboard

soon becomes more than any day fix.

It is an obsession, which he can not subdue.

(light orchestral music)

Nothing can stop him from taking the furled scores,

which in his eyes, represent a priceless treasure.

(light harpsichord music)

- [Narrator] At night, by the light of the moon,

he manages to copy all of the booklets in a couple of months

whilst his brother is soundly sleeping.

- [Narrator] So that year, young Johann Sebastian Bach

was banished from all family gatherings.

(sighing)

(dramatic orchestral music)

- [Narrator] A scholarship permits him to study

at the magnificent Luneburg library,

where he is welcome with great esteem.

- [Narrator] It is said that during his stay in Luneburg,

he consults hundreds of volumes and scores

of dozens of composers from all over Prussia,

from the most ancient to the most contemporary.

(organ music)

And it is also said, that he leaves Luneburg for Hamburg

to meet the most renowned organ play of his time,

Master Reincken.

His thirst for music remains in tact.

His enchanting voice and his knowledge

cause astonishment in the Luneberg choir

and he's invited to sing in the second choir,

which is restricted to the pupils

who are most apt at singing polyphonic music.

His ambition takes him to the city of Arnstadt,

where he discovers a new organ in a temple,

which was rebuilt after an enormous fire

and destroyed a large part of the city

several decades before.

(dramatic organ music)

- [Narrator] After being officially appointed organ player

of this city of 5,000 souls,

he is asked to teach music and Latin

in the city's two secondary schools in return.

The task, of which he is not very fond,

soon becomes a very disagreeable mission.

The pastor Arnstadt, a pitifully weak man,

never manages to convince the young musician

of the use of his future task.

(all giggling)

- [Narrator] His first contact with his pupils

becomes an obvious confrontation.

(dramatic organ music)

(sighing)

(giggling)

(light orchestral music)

(blowing)

(grand orchestral music)

(singing in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Johann Sebastian Bach walks over

300 kilometers on foot to get to Lubeck,

crossing a large part of eastern Prussia.

He goes to Lubeck because he has been informed

that Master Buxtehude is looking for a successor.

Dieterich Buxtehude is a renowned organ player.

This position is very much sought after

and even renowned musicians

such as Handel and Mattheson covet it.

Both withdraw their candidature as a result

of an important clause in the contract.

The candidate for the position is obliged

to marry the organ player's youngest daughter,

a detail Johann Sebastian Bach ignores.

Master Buxtehude married the daughter of his predecessor,

Master Franz Tunder.

Thus a great surprise awaits Johann Sebastian Bach

upon his arrival in Lubeck.

(grand orchestral music)

- [Narrator] Johann Sebastian Bach

appreciates the warm welcome and his introduction

to the young virtuosos.

- [Narrator] And he also notices

the subtle attentions of mademoiselle Buxtehude.

(light violin music)

(grand orchestral music)

- [Narrator] His stay in Lubeck is shorter than anticipated.

In spite of his endless respect and admiration

for Master Buxtehude, he has no spark of feelings

for his daughter.

Bach gains great fame in Lubeck and Alexandra

tries everything in her power to seduce

this exceptional guest.

(light orchestral music)

(clearing throat)

- [Narrator] His surprising behavior

stem from the composer's belief that he must

never be disturbed, carefully isolating

the world of creation from the real world.

(dramatic organ music)

(dramatic orchestral music)

(singing in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Johann Sebastian Bach

finally makes the right decision,

although poor Alexandra will never get over him.

Master Buxtehude remains titular of the organs

of the Marienkirche in Lubeck for a long time,

passing away at a greatly advanced age,

which is highly exceptional for the time.

(singing in foreign language)

His lust for composing never wanes.

He does everything to postpone his return to Arnstadt,

where some parishioners make him feel rather unwelcome.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- [Narrator] The Arnstadt consistory

severely reproaches him his long absence,

and moreover, blames him for adding too many variations

to the accompaniment of the choir

and for interrupting the strokes

with long interludes.

Although his willing to teach music to his pupils,

it is suggested he look for a substitute organ player

as quickly as possible,

a solution that satisfies all parishioners.

Mere chance prolongs his stay in Arnstadt.

The reason is simple.

He is lured by a chorister girl

whom he has had his eye on for several weeks.

- [Narrator] It is to this young girl

that Johann Sebastian Bach declares his love

for the very first time.

A generous woman, with whom he causes

an enormous scandal by having her set

on a temple seat that is reserved for men,

which in those times is considered sheer sacrilege.

(laughing)

(light organ music)

- [Narrator] On October 17, 1707,

Johann Sebastian Bach marries Maria Barbara in Dornheim,

a small village close to Arnstadt.

Master Buxtehude has come all the way to attend the ceremony

with his poor inconsolable Alexandra.

(laughing)

(grand orchestral music)

(grand orchestral music)

(light organ music)

- [Narrator] Johann Sebastian Bach

will only stay in Muhlhausen for a single year.

He resigns after being organ player

of the small village for a short spell,

due to his unremitting conflict with the municipal

and religious authorities.

He then travels to Weimar,

in response to the request of William Ernst,

a pedantic and ambitious personality,

who wants an established church

and all festivities suppressed.

(light organ music)

- [Narrator] Johann Sebastian Bach

is familiar with Weimar.

His return ought to be his revenge on life.

Unfortunately, the composer does not know

that the Duke is a psychopath,

obsessed with theology and servants.

This obsession has driven him mad,

pushing him to a grotesque form

of extreme puritanism.

He even insists on supervising in which order

servants and vassals are to receive communion

and forbids farmers to dance

or even get together in taverns.

- [Narrator] This first encounter distresses him.

(light orchestral music)

Fortunately, the birth of his first child

fills his heart with joy.

(singing in foreign language)

(baby crying)

(door clicking)

(door clicking)

(baby crying)

(light orchestral music)

- [Narrator] He is incarcerated in the Weimar

prison for four weeks.

Maria Barbara, his young wife,

is not informed until days afterwards,

and patiently spends her time

sorting the master's scores,

most of which are organ compositions.

(knocking on door)

- [Narrator] The severe regime inflicted upon him

by the Duke scarcely restrains this exceptional person

whose only desire is to compose music.

He has a task which can only be hindered

by the stupidity and mediocrity of his fellow citizens.

In Weimar he composes 33 cantatas,

writes the Italian Concerto,

teaches music in several schools,

and finds the time to write

an extraordinary volume on teaching organ playing,

an instrument which he masters to perfection

and which he can disassemble and reassemble if necessary.

(singing in foreign language)

- [Narrator] In Weimar, Maria Barbara gives birth

to Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Phillip Emanuel,

and Johann Gottfried Bernhard,

as well as to three other children

who die at birth.

But in those days, death is considered to be an inevitable

manifestation of divine providence,

which people manage to live with.

It does not disrupt the family structure.

In Kothen, Johann Sebastian Bach

composes a large part of his instrumental music.

Concertos for the clavichord,

the famed Brandenburg Concertos,

Violin sonatas, and partitas.

(dramatic orchestral music)

His sister-in-law, Margaretha, stays in Kothen.

Her main task is to raise the children

of the famous couple.

The court of Kothen has no respect for the future Cantor,

with the exception of Prince Leopold,

who at first protects Johann Sebastian Bach unconditionally.

(all applauding)

(coughing)

(light organ music)

- [Narrator] From Kothen, Johann Sebastian Bach

undertakes several journeys,

having to follow Prince Leopold and his princely suite.

Accompanied by six court musicians,

he plays in Carlsbad and Bohemia on several occasions

and is then ordered by the court

to travel to Berlin to choose a new clavichord.

His second trip to Carlsbad

separates him from his wife for several weeks.

In his absence, she catches a mysterious disease

that not a single physician manages to cure.

Upon his return, his sister-in-law

tells him the bad news.

(dramatic orchestral music) (sobbing)

(dramatic orchestral music) (singing in foreign language)

- [Narrator] However, Johann Sebastian Bach

is not a man to tarry.

He starts looking for a new companion

in order to provide a mother for his children,

the youngest of whom is only five.

(light orchestral music)

(singing in foreign language)

(dramatic orchestral music)

- [Narrator] On December three, 1721,

Widower, Johann Sebastian Bach,

celebrates his second marriage

with the enchanting Anna Magdalena Wilcke,

an excellent chorister.

The ceremony takes place in the groom's house,

as ordered by the prince,

who, in his turn a week later,

marries princess Frederica Dehalt-Bernburg.

The princess assumes her role of sovereign brilliantly

by making the composer's life a misery

and convincing the prince to dismiss the Kapellmeister

of Kothen as soon as possible.

(knocking on door)

(laughing)

- [Narrator] Kothen is only some 60 kilometers

away from Leipzig, however the journey is more comfortable

than his introduction to the rector and representative

of the consistory.

(grand orchestral music)

(singing in foreign language)

(instruments tuning)

- [Narrator] Johann Sebastian Bach

composes over 300 cantatas in Leipzig.

Anna Magdalena, his wife, has the important task

of recuperating the handwritten scores after rehearsals

and of copying them down immediately,

thus saving much of his work for posterity.

- [Narrator] The Bach family is given a comfortable

apartment in Leipzig, but unfortunately they have

to deal with an unpleasant neighbor

who won't stop bothering the Kapellmeister.

(singing in foreign language) (dramatic orchestral music)

(baby crying)

(dramatic orchestral music)

(baby crying)

- [Narrator] Anna Magdalena proves

to be a fertile mother,

which is common at the time.

She gives Johann Sebastian Bach 13 children,

seven of which will die at birth

or in the following years.

(singing in foreign language)

(dramatic organ music)

- [Narrator] This unforeseen encounter proves invaluable.

It testifies to the humility of his genius,

who in spite of being totally misunderstood

by the rector and the consistory of Leipzig,

now composes the masterpieces of his magisterial works,

essentially religious compositions,

such as "The Magnificat", "The Passions",

"The Musical Offering," "The Mass in B",

"The Goldberg Variations", "The Art of the Fugue,"

and many more.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(sighing)

(sighing)

(singing in foreign language)

(dramatic orchestral music)

- [Narrator] On April 11, 1727,

Johann Sebastian Bach presents his first version

of "The Saint Matthew Passion," in the St. Thomas church.

The composition boasts several cantata fragments

written in Kothen and Leipzig.

He re-composes them, modifying the text,

or keeping the melody.

He draws also from his old compositions

to give them a new dimension.

Anna Magdalena attends the

first rehearsal enthusiastically.

(singing in foreign language)

(light orchestral music)

- [Narrator] Johann Sebastian Bach

conducts his instrumental music in Cafe Zimmermann

for 10 years, alternating his concertos

for brass, oboe, and flutes

with those for stringed instruments,

like this double concerto,

which he has written in dedication to his two sons.

Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Phillip Emanuel.

Although the Leipzig nobility lends him more respect,

it is once again the common public

that shows the most enthusiasm for his music.

(all chattering)

(all chattering) (laughing)

- [Narrator] Unfortunately these rare joyous

family moments are overshadowed by the rector's

and the consistory's incessant rebukes.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- [Narrator] The success in Cafe Zimmermann

rises to a crescendo.

The event continues summer and winter,

outdoors and indoors, always gathering

both new and regular spectators.

Rumor has it Bach will conduct over 450 concerts

at the cafe and 150 at the town's musical college.

This mix of genres allows him to try new approaches.

His fame now rises in all eastern Prussian duchies,

and even far beyond.

(light orchestral music)

(sighing)

(dramatic orchestral music)

- [Narrator] Anna Magdalena is upset

by his degenerating condition and consults

the best physicians in the region.

She refuses to accept that his condition is irreversible.

Caring and devoted, Anna Magdalena never gives up hope.

She has now become not only the master's quill pen,

but his eyes as well.

(singing in foreign language)

(light orchestral music)

(sobbing)

(light orchestral music)

(singing in foreign language)

- [Narrator] It is the year 1750.

Work on the musical offering, "The Mass in B",

and other impressive compositions, is stopped.

The greatest composer of the past millennium

has gone almost completely blind

and puts his faith in the hands of an English surgeon.

However, Chevalier John Taylor is a self-proclaimed oculist

who travels all over Europe

performing hazardous cataract operations.

Bach's poor wife does not have a clue.

(singing in foreign language) (dramatic orchestral music)

(groaning)

(singing in foreign language)

(sobbing)

(dramatic orchestral music)

- [Narrator] Johann Sebastian Bach

dies on July 28, 1750.

His pupil George Frideric Handel

will die 10 years later

after having been operated by the same charlatan.

His sons will occupy important offices

in almost all existing duchies.

His legacy, two clavichords, one violin,

one cello, and of course,

a large number of musical scores,

which he never classified,

due to his early demise.

Unfortunately, his sons

sell many of his scores to Ham--

The bag and the cathedrals of St. Nicholas and St. Chalice.

She dies 10 years after her husband.

The memory of the Leipzig genius

soon sinks into oblivion.

The European aristocracy prefers the pomp

of gallant music.

Another genius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

pronounces the moving phrase,

"God is greatly indebted to Johann Sebastian Bach."

March 11, 1829 in Berlin, the German composer, Mendelssohn,

revives Johann Sebastian Bach by conducting

"The St. Matthew Passion."

Musicologists from all around the world

concur that only half of his works have been recovered.

Extolled all over the world,

he is considered, with Mozart,

to be a sublime musical genius,

who remains peerless to this very day.

(dramatic orchestral music) (singing in foreign language)