Ancestors of Johann Sebastian Bach
Four branches of the Bach family were known at the beginning of the 16th century, and in 1561 we hear of Hans Bach of Wechmar, a village between Gotha and Arnstadt in Thuringia, who is believed to be the father of Veit Bach.
- Veit (Vitus) Bach (d. 1619) was "a white-bread baker in Hungary" who had to flee Hungary because he was a Lutheran and who "found the greatest pleasure in a little cittern which he took with him even into the mill".
- His son Johannes (Hans) Bach (d. 1626) "der Spielmann" (lit. the player), was the first professional musician of the family. "At first took up the trade of baker, but having a particular bent for music" he became a piper.
- His second grandson Christoph (1613–1661) was an instrumentalist.
- His first great-grandson Johann Ambrosius was Johann Sebastian Bach's father.
Read more about this topic: Bach Family
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—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)
“The author’s conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that poetry begins to atrophy when it gets too far from music; but this must not be taken as implying that all good music is dance music or all poetry lyric. Bach and Mozart are never too far from physical movement.”
—Ezra Pound (1885–1972)