Status Updates From Music in the Castle of Heav...

Life in Leipzig to start was not exactly lovely. Unruly students, his teaching obligations to them and much more still he threw all his energies into three cantata cycles and two Passions.

With four young children to raise, Bach, lost no time in finding a new wife. Anna Magdalena Wilcke was a professional singer and came from musical stock. Their wedding was in December 1721.

Bereavement
Mark left Cothen with his prince in May 1720 to lead a music festival 130 miles south. While he was away his first wife suddenly died and was buried. The news that she had been ill and died, reached him only when he entered his own house. She was perfectly healthy when he left.

Köthen employment: first time he had left the profession of Church organist to operate within an almost exclusively secular environment. He was given generous facilities. Here he composed WTC Vol 1, B-concertos, sonatas and partitas for unaccompanied violin, sonatas for violin and obbligato harpsichord, suites for solo cello, 4 Ouvertures for orchestra. Also 2-3 part Inventions