A joyful Bach family gathering

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A joyful Bach family gathering

Published: 10 Oct. 2025, 00:05

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Na Sung-in

The author is a music critic and director of the classical music brand Poongwoldang.

Holidays often bring families together. They are a chance to step away from social obligations and return briefly to a community comprising kin. Each family may mark the occasion differently — by preparing special food, watching a film or going on a short outing. Whatever the form, the aim is to fill the time with joy since life rarely allows much space for making memories with relatives.

For the Bach family, such gatherings were difficult to arrange. As musicians, they were busiest during Christmas or Easter, leading choirs and playing the organ. Yet family life mattered to them. They set a date and made sure to meet at least once a year.

Johann Sebastian Bach in a portrait by Elias Gottlob Haussmann. This is the second version of Haussman's 1746 canvas. Bach is holding a copy of the six-part canon BWV 1076. [WIKIPEDIA]

A Bach reunion must have been the liveliest festivity in town. In an era without television or smartphones, the gathering of choir directors, organists and court musicians meant the entertainment came from within. The affair might have been simple, but the amusement was probably abundant.

Johann Nikolaus Forkel, who wrote the first Bach biography “On Johann Sebastian Bach’s Life, Art, and Works” (1802), describes how these meetings began with solemn chorales. Soon, however, they turned into playful improvisations mixed with bawdy folk songs or popular tunes. This genre, called quodlibet, layered sacred hymns with secular songs in a comical fashion, with each singer taking a different line. It was as if hymns had collided with pop hits, creating a chaotic but cheerful soundscape.

One can imagine the normally devout church musicians setting aside their seriousness and laughing to the point of tears at such antics. Considering what is known of Bach’s fondness for drink, it is not hard to picture his brothers and uncles raising their cups as they sang, fueling the merriment. The reunion likely resounded with laughter as much as with music.

Such occasions stripped away formal garments and titles, leaving family members to meet as themselves. In these moments, joy was shared not only through music but through presence. The warmth of kinship, renewed in celebration, had a way of replenishing the affection needed to extend kindness to others beyond the family circle.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.