I'm out of my depth now, I knew nothing of that.
How great do you think is the role of faith here? I tend to the view that the church makes use of talent that is already there. An exploiter rather than a catalyst.
In order to have cathedral organs there must be cathedrals. But the king of instruments also lives in secular venues. That he speaks with more majesty in his original consecrated home is down to the architecture.
Bach’s faith? Difficult to say. As you know, many view history through inescapably modern eyes. Likewise, many Bach lovers fashion (or refashion) his motives according to their own religio-philosophical bent. I’d be afraid to argue either way without causing controversy. There’s evidence for both sides, though I’m no expert on it.
Bach’s life (1685-1750) did coincide with the emergence and zenith of Pietism within Lutheranism. The piety in his texts and music is obvious, as are a few religious marks (e.g., “help me, Jesus”) in his hand found on some of his manuscripts. Conversely, his letters are sometimes so obsequious that one can only assume that religious conformity was not just an option in those days; it was required. Plus music is often seen as the “universal language.” If you cannot stand Christian literalism---as many cannot these days (I among them)---viewing Bach’s music as “cosmic” helps a little, feeble as that may sound.
Regarding venue, and along the same lines, many modern organists simply tolerate churchianity b.s. to get at the organs. Unless you're fabulously wealthy and can afford a $500,000 instrument in your mansion (if you have one), there’s simply no other access to a pipe organ of any size for most organists. Thus, the attempts at philosophical “compromise” that result can be extremely frustrating, if not downright soul-crushing.
Were such wrenching compromises required during Bach’s time? Possibly. He had his unfair share of squabbles with church fathers. And as you so wisely pointed out, exploitation of musicians has been a major sport of the uppity-ups for centuries. Musicians are some of the biggest victims of all.
Add to all of that the gay issue within a religiously bigoted context and you’ve got an atmosphere so toxic that the pipe organ is only barely worth all the trouble. Learning the flute instead would probably be a lot easier and a lot less aggrieving. Probably a lot less fun too, however. But at least you can carry it with you and you won’t have to grovel before total hypocrites.
I’m all for moving the pipe organ into secular venues. Perhaps the Internet can help. Many sounds from many of the great instruments have been sampled and preserved, with more to come as technology advances. New composers can exploit these sounds, while listeners can enjoy them in their own private philosophical spaces.
Like many supernaturally successful artists (the Beatles come to mind), Bach was the right person born in the right place at the right time. Music had been in his blood for generations, underwriting his great talent almost as much as Leopold’s underwrote Wolfgang’s. Bach’s family spawned and nurtured his gift.
Then there was the place---Germany, where, 150 years prior to Bach, Luther had established music as part of the elementary curriculum along with language and math. That is why so many great composers are German.
Finally, the time was fairly peaceful. Bach was born 50 years after the Thirty Years’ War and died almost 3 decades before the French Revolution. So there were no major upheavals that affected Germany during his life, except for some minor Prussian “adventures” here and there. In the Capriccio upon the Departure of the Beloved Brother, for example, the motive behind the departure was to fight for or against the Poles or something like that.
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