A socialite with a great sense of humour?

What do we actually know about the personality of Bach over beyond the idealization of the Cantor of St. Thomas and even deification? It is only possible to compile cautious assumptions about his personal manner with the aid of sparse surviving comments by himself or his contemporaries. Some of his secular cantatas depicting the social life of his time hint at humorous and light-hearted character traits.

One of the most difficult tasks in musicological research is gaining an accurate image of Johann Sebastian Bach’s personality. It would be presumptuous to attempt a comprehensive approach, as surviving sources barely permit an extensive interpretation of this aspect of the composer. This state of affairs is most likely also intended by Bach himself and was perhaps best expressed by Hindemith who spoke of the “oyster-like taciturnity” of the composer. Bach’s ostensible reticence is not only observed in his private ­correspondence, but also in the rare allusions to Bach’s personality in descriptions provided by his contemporaries and recollections by his sons and pupils. We do not know why Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Friedrich Agricola virtually skirted round a comment on his character in their obituary compiled at the end of 1750, preferring the vague general statement that “those who enjoyed his company and his friendship and were witnesses of his integrity towards God, and his nearest and dearest are in the best position to talk about his moral character.”

Mentions of his family and private sphere are rare in Bach’s few personal letters and then only within a marginal context. It was perhaps a lack of elegance with the quill possibly coupled with the absence of a need to communicate which could have prevented him from describing his personal circumstances in great detail. Even if we have to assume that a large proportion of Bach’s correspondence has been lost, it is still somewhat strange that external events and his permanently full engagement diary – particularly after 1723 – did not prompt him to become an active letter-writer. Admittedly, his heavy workload genuinely left him with little space for personal matters. Unfortunately, the surviving sources mostly reveal circumstances regarding deviations from normal working regulations and other legalities which provoked spontaneous disputes and often extended conflict. Other frequent themes include arguments on matters of competence and financial affairs. The state of normality in the everyday life of the Cantor of St. Thomas which was mostly “peaceable, calm and serene” in which he only “became antagonized and sought to express his fervor in the strongest expressions” on exceptional occasions remains completely unmentioned. Admittedly, we cannot judge today whether these remarks made by Carl Ludwig Hilgenfeldt in 1850 really corresponded to actual fact, although the Bach biographer at least had recourse to information indirectly going back to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.