New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-07-30
y. 6. BACH.

moment with rich taste.
J. s. BACH.
SEBASTIAN BACH. By REGINALD LANE PooI ,, M -
IRE Great Musicians. Edited by fran1s "u''
limo PIP viii. 1873. scribner ~ "eii"fu,
In the preface 10 this little BOOK Nir'
knowedges his obligations to the p'osrapny r~
lished by Forkel eighty years ago. which contains
ru,,her of outbeptic anecdotes and personal de-
tails; and to the elaborate work oil III 1p'''"'
vhose nersevering researches have recently pun
us in nossession for the first time ol all the IN
portant facts of Bac's lite and all the op'ainaoc
data relative 10 his compositions FOR inc accoin-
nanviuc critical remarks Mr.. Poole alone Is 'espon-
sillc The narrative is simple, clear ana well at
ranged The sketch of the great musician career
the clmpses of his domestic life, the outlines Oh
his character are much more satisfactory than we
find them even in the amplest OF the encyclopedia
bio,raphies from which English readers have hith-
erto derived most of their knowledge, OF the
subject; and although the story is still perhaps
somewhat meaGrc. we can say at any late that we
have nj last ifelike picture of the man, rs well
as a very curious aud exact view OF a North German
musicians employments and trials n hundred ana
fifty years ago. There has never been any paraiiei
IN the history of art to the extraordinary persistence
of the musical talent in the family of the Bachs.
A genealogical table in Mr.. Pooles volume exhibits
the relationship Of iifty-three musicians of that
name. between 1919 and 1916. women not being
lncuded and in the line which contains the name
of the great Johann Sebastian the inheritance is
traced through seven generations by direct descent.
OF course the development OF genius. or even Oh
great original talent in this multitude of players
and composers vas comparatively rare; but INC
hereditary bent was so marked that the town
musicians Of ErfuIt continued to be generlcally
known as the Bachs long after there lad ceased
TO be. any of the name among them. Almost With
out exception these Bachs were NlrtuOuS anu ueco-
rous people. They bred no rogues and only one
druukard Ia second cousin of Sebastian; and they
were remarkable for their strong family Affection
We have pleasant view OF Sebastian the giant
of the race practising his art by his own hreslde
with the help OF his wife and children or COMPOSING
music for thelr use Two books have been pre-
served, handsomely bound and inscribed as II Tor
presents in which lie wrote for his wife number
of suites preudes, arrangements, etc. Tor the clavl
chord. lie was twice married and had twenty
| children Friedman and Carl Philip Emanuel
the most dist nguIshed of his offspring, were OF the
| fruit of the first marriage. The children OF my
second marriage" he writes to a friend, are still
| little the eldest boy of six years. Altogether
however they are born musicians, and can assure
YOU that even ! can arrange ii concert with my
family, rOcaltter and Hstyumntd6t'r, whereas my
wife that now is sings pretty soprano, and my
eldest daughter plays not amss.'
Bach was highly aDr reciated in his lifetime as an
organst but his genius as a composer seems not to
have been suspected and his asC.years, director
| of music at the famous Thomasschule in Leips'c
were crowded with ndignites and veXations. The
world did not discover his greatness until his very
| name had grown faint i'll the city where he accom-
pllshed his grandest work, and his neglected manu-
scripts had been scattered far ana wide, many OF
! them beyond recovery. The serious study Of any
thing of Bachs besides the Preludes and Fugues, Is
so recent an enterprise tha to most of us the eX-
| ploraton offers all the charm of surprise and tie
| proper manner of performing some OF his most
beautiful and most characteristic works is still in
| dispute among musicians. Upon the matter which
underlies this question, namely the character oil
Bachs orchestra the resources at his disposal, and
| the imperfectonS of his scores, Mr.. Pooles BOOK
leaves much to be desired. In England if the Bach
| revival has not gone very far 1t shows certain
sturdy vgor In this country 1t promises to
| 0ourish with characteristic American rapidity.
| The credit of first producing the st. Matthew
| Passion Music in the United States is one Of the
| recent laures of the Handel and Haydn Society OF
| Boston. The work next presented by tho
| Oratoro Society of New-York in a manner more
likely to check the study of Bach than to promote
1t: but the bad effect of this unfortunate essay
was in part corrected by the sngularly impressive
and beautiful Interpretation of the Passion Afslc at
| the last Festival in Cincinnati. This performance
seems destined to mark an important epoch in the
new Bach movement. One of the cantatas was
well rendered by the New-York Oratorio Society a
few years ago. ana two Of the greater works in that
class have been admirably sung with large choruses
and orchestras under the direction of Theodore
! Thomas in New-York, Cincinnati and Chicago
But the first spark of popular appreciation OF Bach
in this country was kinded by the performance by
the Thomas Orchestra many years ago OF some
| specinens of a class of compositions to which MI.
| Poole makes only bare and most unsatisfactory
| allusion We refer to the fascinating Orchestral
Suites, which reveal so much of Bach's charm as u
| mel0dist, SO much of his graceful fancy ana MS
| ingenuity IN treating noble thoughts with dainty
devices. Samuel Wesley, who was of the first
| English admirers of Bach assured mankind at the
beginning of this century that of the characteristic
beanties of the majestic composer air" was one Of
| the chief and most striking. He v as not believed
| then; but the statement was trIe. and nothing
teaches us TO realize it, so quickly study of the
| Orchestral Suites The popularity Of these works
undoubtedly stimulated an interest in the more
serious choral compositions. 1t is a curious TACT
that for what we know of the earliest of the modern
musicians, Bach, we principally indebted to the
same conductor who has made US familiar with the
latest of them, Wagner.
TWO HARD CASES. Sketches from a Physicians
Portfolio. by W. w GODDING, NJ. ID. 1GmO. pp
2j7. HoughiOn. Miilin Co.
Dr. Godding, formerly superintendent of the
lunatic Hospital at Taunton, Massachusetts aud
now resident of Washington, ID. c., was one OF
the expert witnesses for the defence in the Guteau
trial and the principal object of this little book Ii
to sustain the theory Of the assassin's insanity
which was rejected by tie Court "fragmentary
i'm G barI in g. uer q
at Taunton occupies the first thirty pages of the
fron