A raging family feud soured Bach’s working environment in Weimar in 1717. The Duke of Weimar, William Ernest, who resided at the “Wilhelmsburg” household, became a sworn enemy to his nephew, Ernst August, who lived at the “Rote Schloß.” As a result, musicians from the first household were forbidden to fraternise with the musicians from the second. Bach did his best to ignore this fraternisation order, as he saw it as a mere family squabble. His defiance, however, did not go unnoticed, and when the old Kapellmeister died, Bach was passed over for the job. Bach had been doing most of the Kapellmeister’s job already, and he was bitterly disappointed. Luckily, he had previously made the acquaintance of Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen, the young ruler of the small nearby Calvinist court. And when Leopold was suddenly in need of a Kapellmeister, he offered the job to Johann Sebastian, who signed the contract on 7 August 1717.

Prince Leopold
Johann Sebastian Bach: “Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht,” BWV 134a (Ingeborg Danz, alto; Marcus Ullmann, tenor; Stuttgart Gächinger Kantorei; Stuttgart Bach Collegium; Helmuth Rilling, cond.)

Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Saal in Schloss Köthen
But there was a small problem! Bach had signed the contract without the knowledge of the Duke of Weimar, and when Bach subsequently presented a polite request for his release, he was arrested. Citing incorrect procedures in requesting his release, Bach spent the period between 6 November and 2 December 1717 in the local Weimar jail. Eventually, Bach was reluctantly given permission to resign his office and take on his new post in Köthen. Prince Leopold was barely twenty-five years old and a proficient performer on the harpsichord and the violin. On his many travels, he came into contact with the operas of Jean-Baptiste Lully, and visited the opera theaters in Florence, Turin, and finally, Vienna. In 1714, he created his court “Kapelle”, and Johann Sebastian became his Kapellmeister three years later. Leopold and Bach appeared to have enjoyed a very good relationship, and when Maria Barbara Bach gave birth to a son on 15 November 1718, Prince Leopold was enlisted as a godfather. Regrettably, Leopold Augustus Bach was born sickly and died less than a year later, on 29 September 1719. In turn, Bach composed a secular cantata for Leopold’s birthday on 10 December 1718; regrettably, the music has been lost. However, the New Year’s Cantata “Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht” (Time, which day and year doth make) has survived and was subsequently reused by Bach during his tenure at Leipzig.
For more of the best in classical music, sign up for our E-Newsletter