Johann Sebastian Bach was Kapellmeister in Köthen from 1717 to 1723, moving here to work for Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen, himself a competent amateur musician, after nine years in Weimar. He was given quite a free hand in what to compose and perform – Leopold being a Calvinist and making no great demands for religious music – and clearly had court musicians of a high standard to perform his works: among other things he wrote the Brandenburg Concertos, the Orchestral and Cello Suites, and the violin sonatas and partitas while in Köthen. He was appreciated and well paid.
After arriving in Köthen just after 1:00pm and checking in to my hotel, 50m from the train station – the hotel was built in 1841 to serve the then new Berlin to Köthen railway line (and claims Franz Liszt among its earlier guests) – I set out in the miserable rain to find the Bach museum in the Luswigsbau, the southern wing of the Schloss. / more |
Bach Museum
Only four rooms of the town museum are devoted to Bach’s time, and much of the display is concerned with Prince Leopold rather than Bach himself. But without Leopold‘s interest in music, and his desire to be seen to have the best of everything, Bach wouldn’t have had a job. Someone came and opened up the museum for me, and provided a very interesting audio guide in English, as I padded around the paintings and furniture wearing huge felt slippers over my shoes to protect the floors...
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In the City
Out of the museum to find Jakobskirche, the church with the twin pointy towers often used in pictures of Köthen; and St Agnes, Bach’s less photogenic church on the edge of town. St Agnes was fronted by the inevitable building works, and was locked, of course. Took some photos of the Bach statue, surrounded by local cars.
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I was back in the hotel by 5:30, feeling that I’d done my duty today, but with not much to show for it. Spent the evening repacking essentials into lightweight luggage, and preparing for a long journey tomorrow to Warsaw, via Wittenberg and Berlin! |
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