by Edmund Rubbra
Music by Bach's Sons
The most remarkable family in the history of music was undoubtedly that of the Bachs. The earliest record of the Bachs dates from the middle of the sixteenth century, and the last representative, a grandson of Johann Sebastian , died in 1865. Throughout this period-from the age of Luther to that of Bismarck
. almost the entire family practised music. The three greatest Bachs were Johann Sebastian and his two sons, Johann Christian and Carl Philipp Emanuel. His eldest son, however, Friedrich, was also a composer of considerable note, but his work has not the historical significance of that of the other two.