Whenever the sources are silent about something, fantasy can roam. And
so the numerous areas open to conjecture are thoroughly exploited, and
increasingly so in recent times. As a result, an image of Bach has arisen
that portrays the Thomascantor as a kind of hybrid of Leonardo, Newton,
Leibnitz, Goethe, and Einstein, or even has him surpassing these. The disciples
of this way of thinking are not aware of the embarrassing similarity of
such a super-human artistic figure to certain heroes whose doubtful adventures
they must have eagerly read in their youth. Similar annoyances prompted
Theodor Wiesengrund-Adorno to chide his fellow citizens a half century
ago in his irate and at the same time apodictic essay, “Bach defended against
his admirers”. The defense against those “admirers” remains at the end
of our century a still-timely issue for all concerned with the life and
work of the Leipzig Thomascantor.
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