J. S. Bach’s Accompanists

The Church Culture That Made His Musical Genius Flourish
by Christopher Hoyt

It is now three hundred years since J. S. Bach composed his church cantatas, and despite the secularization of the West, their cultural influence still lingers. Even non-Christians with only a modest interest in classical music are likely to recognize the tunes of “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”(Jesus bleibet meine Freude), “Sleepers, Awake!” (Wachet auf!), and “Sheep May Safely Graze” (Schafe können sicher weiden). Movements from his cantatas (or adaptations thereof) continue to furnish churches of many denominations with instrumental voluntaries, choral anthems, and vocal solos. The St. Matthew Passion and the St. John Passion, crown jewels of Bach’s cantata cycle, are among the greatest masterpieces of the Baroque era, and they enjoy hundreds of performances a year in cities across the globe. The chorales (hymns) from his cantatas remain the preeminent teaching model for harmony and counterpoint, and they still appear in many Christian hymnals today.

Because we breathe postmodern air, we are prone to assume that these exceptional pieces sprang solely from Bach’s genius and from no other source. Now there is no question that Bach was a singular genius, and his extraordinary intelligence and unparalleled musical talent were certainly prerequisites for the sacred music that he wrote. But we need to realize that Bach could never have written his cantatas—indeed, would never have thought to write them—without being born into a particular society and inheriting its worldview, its traditions, and its infrastructure. The cantatas, therefore, emerged from something that was much bigger than just one individual life or one set of savant abilities; they emerged from an entire culture. That culture was the soil in which Bach’s genius blossomed, the foundation upon which he erected an exceptional spire.

THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:

Christopher Hoyt is the author of Under Authority: Practicing Submission in a Rebellious Society (Anglican Liturgy Press, forthcoming). He teaches the humanities at Good Shepherd School (Reformed Episcopal) in Tyler, Texas. He is the general editor of the hymnal The Book of Common Praise/Magnify the Lord, an Adjunct Professor of Sacred Music at Cranmer Theological House (Reformed Episcopal), and the organist/choirmaster at Good Shepherd Church in Tyler.

Print &
Online Subscription

Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!

Online
Subscription

Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!

Give a Gift Subscription

bulk subscriptions

Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.

Transactions will be processed on a secure server.