Early in 1726, for reasons essentially unknown, Johann Sebastian Bach interrupted his continuous production of cantatas. Between February and September 1726, he performed 18 cantatas by his cousin Johann Ludwig Bach, and he performed none of his own music at the main Sunday services. It has been speculated that difficulties with performers may have been partly responsible, as the instrumental forces he required for his own compositions put considerable pressure on finances and stamina. However, there was considerable joy in the Bach household as Anna Magdalena gave birth to their daughter Elisabeth Juliane Friederica Bach, who was baptised on 5 April 1726. The baby seemed to be healthy and alert, and Bach had his Partita No. 1—under the general title of “Clavier-Übung—published in September of the same year. Very little is known about Elisabeth Juliane Friederica’s upbringing, but she presumably participated in various musical activities in and around the household.

Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita No. 1 in B-flat Major, BWV 825

J.S. Bach’s Partita No. 1 in B-flat Major, BWV 825 © lorenzoghielmi.com

We do know that she married Bach’s student Johann Christoph Altnickol, who was employed as a singer and assistant organist in Breslau between 1740 and 1744. He began his studies in theology at the University of Leipzig in March 1744, and by Michaelmas 1745 he sang as a bass in Johann Sebastian Bach’s choirs. And he also worked as a copyist for his soon to be father-in law, as he married Elisabeth Juliana Friederica in January 1749. As might be expected, their first son was named Johann Sebastian, but regrettably, the child died in infancy. An important eyewitness biographer wrote that Bach dictated his last chorale prelude (For deinen Thron tret ich hiermit, BWV 668) to Altnickol on his deathbed, but the manuscript did not survive. Altnickol also acted as a trustee after Bach died in 1750, and he was involved in distributing his estate. Altnickol took his family to Naumburg, and he died in 1759. His widow lived on a generous allowance from her half-brother C. P. E. Bach, and she later moved back to Leipzig to be with her two married daughters. Elisabeth Juliane Friederica Bach died on 24 August 1781.

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