# Looking for some help with JS Bach history Plz.



## BobbyP (Jun 8, 2020)

I was in Gdansk, Poland 10 years ago and thought I saw a letter in a huge church rejecting JS Bach for a position in the music department. The position may have been as a director, choir master or musician or it may not be true at all. Can anyone of you nice people here confirm or deny this story please. If you can confirm it, would you kindly point me in a direction to see it for myself. I'm working on a paper concerning rejection and can use all the help I can get Thank You, Bobby P


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## DaddyGeorge (Mar 16, 2020)

As I found (I speak Polish) Johann Sebastian Bach never lived in Gdańsk. He might have visited (not very likely), but he didn't come to live. Close by, and Bach would become a bandmaster in St. Mary's Church. According to available sources, his letter from 1730 to a friend from his youth, Georg Erdmann, who lived in Gdańsk, survived. Bach sought in it to "make a very favorable recommendation" for the position of bandmaster of the Gdańsk St. Mary's Church. However, the letter was ineffective, the City Council was not interested. Perhaps because of the number of children, because the whole family had to be provided with housing...

*here is more about the letter*


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## BobbyP (Jun 8, 2020)

This is interesting for sure. I visit Poland once per year. I'm Canadian and a chef by trade. I was head chef in a Czech restaurant for many years but thats another story. I was in St Mary"s church and was under the impression that there was a document saying that Bach was rejected for a position there. I did not see it myself but my Polish wife saw it and told me about it. That day I was tired of museums and historical facts and it only became interesting to me later. Thank You for your time Daddy Georg, Robert, Ahoy


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## Guest002 (Feb 19, 2020)

Bach definitely never lived in or even visited Danzig (as Gdansk would have been known in his time). In his entire lifetime, he barely traveled more than 150 miles (with the exception of his walk to Luneberg). His entire lifetime's travels can be comfortably plotted on a very small map:









(The trip to Potsdam to meet Frederick the Great is not included on that map, though, to be fair).


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## BobbyP (Jun 8, 2020)

Thank You for your reply, this is interesting information that will prove helpful in my quest for the answer.

Cheers, Bobby P


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## DaddyGeorge (Mar 16, 2020)

AbsolutelyBaching said:


> Bach definitely never lived in or even visited Danzig (as Gdansk would have been known in his time). In his entire lifetime, he barely traveled more than 150 miles (with the exception of his walk to Luneberg). His entire lifetime's travels can be comfortably plotted on a very small map:
> 
> View attachment 137695
> 
> ...


As I know (I'm not 100% sure), Bach visited Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) perhaps twice (in 1718? and in 1720) with Leopold von Anhalt-Köthen.


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## annaw (May 4, 2019)

DaddyGeorge said:


> As I know (I'm not 100% sure), Bach visited Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) perhaps twice (in 1718? and in 1720) with Leopold von Anhalt-Köthen.


Yes, in 1718 and 1720 - I found similar information. I also found that Bach visited Berlin in 1719 and that was probably his second time there. That visit had something to do with a purchase of a new harpsichord and it's thought that during the time in Berlin he came into contact with Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg whom he dedicated his Brandenburg concerti two years later. (This is from Malcolm Boyd's book "Bach".)


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## Guest002 (Feb 19, 2020)

annaw said:


> Yes, in 1718 and 1720 - I found similar information. I also found that Bach visited Berlin in 1719 and that was probably his second time there. That visit had something to do with a purchase of a new harpsichord and it's thought that during the time in Berlin he came into contact with Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg whom he dedicated his Brandenburg concerti two years later. (This is from Malcolm Boyd's book "Bach".)


Fair cop. I forgot the Berlin (as opposed to Potsdam) and Karlsbad trips. Thanks. Those side trips aside, though, he really didn't get around much (compared to Handel, for example, who traversed much of the European continent)


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## BobbyP (Jun 8, 2020)

Ok, I get it that JS Bach had solicited his friend Georg, who was affiliated with the city/town administration in Gdansk to submit a favourable reference on his behalf. Does anyone know of a reply letter or a letter directly rejecting JS Bach for a position in a Gdansk church?


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