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Servants (Gesinde) is the term used for people responsible for various jobs in the house, who belonged to the household and were paid and fed. The question whether servants were employed in Anna Magdalena Bach’s household and if so, how many, would be very important. If many of the daily chores were done by maids, she would be free for other pursuits. The image of the housewife who had to look after the children all day, cook the meals, clean the apartment, and do the washing would not be so convincing ...
St. Thomas School, 1749, home of the Bach family
The circumstances of her life are in many cases closely connected with those of her husband. So the subtitle of this blog could have been “Johann Sebastian Bach in Private”. Our ideas about him could also change. For example, do you see a difference between him asking his wife for a cup of coffee and him asking a maid who would convey his wish to a member of the kitchen staff?
My publications about Anna Magdalena Bach:
My piece “Anna Magdalena Bach – Ehefrau und Geschäftspartnerin” gives some impressions of what this book is about. It was produced by the German cultural radio station Deutschlandfunk Kultur and broadcast on 30th March 2022.
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My piece "Die verwitwete Frau Capellmeisterin Bach als Musikalienhändlerin", produced by the German cultural radio station Deutschlandfunk Kultur and broadcast on 29th May 2019, contains extracts from my research results which I present in this book.
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I would like to thank Alan Shepherd for the English translation.