Born: November 22, 1710 - Weimar, Germany
Died: July 1, 1784 - Berlin, Germany

Life

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach [45] was the eldest, and by common repute the most gifted son, of J.S. Bach [24]; a famous organist, a famous improvisor, and a complete master of counterpoint.

Unlike the rest of the family, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was a man of idle and dissolute habits, whose career was little more than a series of wasted opportunities. Born in Weimar and educated at Leipzig, he was appointed in 1733 organist of St. Sophia's Church at Dresden, and in 1746 became organist of the Liebfrauenkirche at Halle; his father's influence was enough to secure him the latter position without the usual trial performance.

With his father's death in 1750, the stabilizing influence in Friedemann's life seems to have disappeared, and he lived an unhappy life in Halle, from which he frequently traveled to seek other employment. In 1762, he was offered the post of Kapellmeister to the court of Darmstadt, but for some reason he did not accept the position. Two years later, in 1764, he walked off the job in Halle, ending his employment there and indeed his formal employment anywhere. Thenceforward he led a wandering life until he died in great poverty at Berlin, aged 74.

Music

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach's compositions, very few of which were printed, include many church cantatas and instrumental works, of which the most notable are the fugues, polonaises and fantasias for clavier, and an interesting sextet for strings, clarinet and horns. Several of his manuscripts are preserved in the Royal Library at Berlin; and a complete list of his works, so far as they are known, may be found in Eitner's Quellen Lexikon.

A commonly-used numbering system is that of Martin Falck, who published a catalog of Friedemann's music in 1913. For example, F. 12 stands for the celebrated "Twelve Polonaises" that were completed by 1765.

Additionally, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach along with his brother Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach [46] provided important information to Johann Nikolaus Forkel, the first biographer of J.S. Bach. The biographical information supplied by Friedemann and Emanuel was utilized in the biography of J.S. Bach that Forkel published in 1802. However, unlike C.P.E. Bach, Friedemann was an exceedingly poor custodian of J.S. Bach's music, much of which he, like Emanuel, inherited on their father's death. Not only did a good deal of Friedemann's share of this music disappear unaccountably, but in some cases he is known to have claimed credit for music written by his father (such as the Organ Concerto, BWV 596; because Friedemann wrote his own name on J.S. Bach's autograph score, it was mistakenly attributed to Friedemann when it was first published in the 19^th century).

Source: Wikipdia Website (incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (January 2006)

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Composer of Works previously attributed to J.S. Bach

Title

Year

BWV 836: Allemande [1] in G minor for Keyboard ?

BWV 837: Allemande [2] in G minor (incomplete) for Keyboard ?

BWV 924a: Praeludium ex c-nat

BWV 932: Praeludium ex e-nat (incomplete)

BWV Anh 168: Kyrie in g

Arrangements of J.S. Bach's Works

Title

Year

Additions of trumpets and timpani parts to the opening chorus (Mvt. 1) of Cantata BWV 80: Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott

Use of Chorale Melodies in his works

Title

Chorale Melody

Year

Ertönet, ihr seligen Völker, Cantata, F. 88 (BR F15) (parts by D. Stoppe; parody of cantata Act Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein)

Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein

Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, Cantata, F. 96 (BR F19)

Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein

1752-1753

Organ Trio on Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr (lost)

Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr

Durch Adams Fall, Chorale Prelude for Organ, F. 38/1/4 (BR A96)

Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt

Jesu, meine Freude, Chorale Prelude for Organ, F. 38/1/3 (BR A95)

Jesu, meine Freude

Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, Chorale Prelude for Organ, F. 38/1/1 (BR A93)

Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland

Wir Christenleut, Chorale Prelude for Organ, F. 38/1/6 (BR A98)

Wir Christenleut habn jetzund Freud

Links to other Sites

HOASM Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann: Biography (Sojurn)
Classical Net - Basic Repertoire List - WF Bach
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784) (Karadar)
Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann (1710-1784) (Naxos)
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (Weltchronik) [German]
Klassika: Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784) [German]

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (Wikipedia)
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (Wikipedia) [German]
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (Encyclopædia Britannica)
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (Answers.com)
allmusic ((( Wilhelm Friedemann Bach > Overview Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann (WQXR)

Bibliography

Eugene Helm: "Wilhelm Friedemann Bach," in Christoph Wolff et. al., The New Grove Bach Family. NY: Norton, 1983 (ISBN 0393300889), pp. 238-50.

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