II

JOHN SEBASTIAN BACH


Away back in 1685, almost two hundred and fifty years ago, one of the
greatest musicians of the world first saw the light, in the little
town of Eisenach, nestling on the edge of the Thuringen forest. The
long low-roofed cottage where little Johann Sebastian Bach was born,
is still standing, and carefully preserved.

The name Bach belonged to a long race of musicians, who strove to
elevate the growing art of music. For nearly two hundred years there
had been organists and composers in the family; Sebastian's father,
Johann Ambrosius Bach was organist of the Lutheran Church in Eisenach,
and naturally a love of music was fostered in the home. It is no
wonder that little Sebastian should have shown a fondness for music
almost from infancy. But, beyond learning the violin from his father,
he had not advanced very far in his studies, when, in his tenth
year he lost both his parents and was taken care of by his brother
Christoph, fourteen years older, a respectable musician and organist
in a neighboring town. To give his little brother lessons on the
clavier, and send him to the Lyceum to learn Latin, singing and other
school subjects seemed to Christoph to include all that could be
expected of him. That his small brother possessed musical genius of
the highest order, was an idea he could not grasp; or if he did, he
repressed the boy with indifference and harsh treatment.

Little Sebastian suffered in silence from this coldness. Fortunately
the force of his genius was too great to be crushed. He knew all the