The Eisenach organist Johann Christoph Bach (1642–1703) was one of the great composers of the 17th century. Unfortunately only about a dozen motets, vocal concerts, and keyboard works have survived, and so he is known today only to a small group of musicians and music lovers as a kind of insider’s tip. Under more favorable circumstances he would certainly rank among the #rst exponents of his era. The beauty, expressiveness, and sophistication of those compositions by Johann Christoph Bach that happen to have survived indicate that here we have to deplore an irretrievable loss in music history.

The compositions by Johann Christoph Bach presented here demonstrate that the #eld of central German music between Schütz and Bach, which had long been neglected by scholars and practitioners alike, represents an inexhaustible treasure trove of artfully worked, expressive compositions which have preserved their original fascination to this day