Sad finale of English Bach
QUESTION A spokesman for EU Flags Proms said: ‘During the Age of Enlightenment, Mozart, Handel and Bach all lived and worked for part of their lives in London.’ Which Bach was he referring to? ThaT was the great Johann Sebastian Bach’s youngest, and 11th, son Johann Christian, born at Leipzig, Germany, on September 5, 1735. he was called ‘the English’ or even ‘the London’ Bach.
after a period as organist of Milan Cathedral and other north- Italian positions, he spent his last 25 years (and the £2,000 savings of his Italian wife, the singer Cecilia Grassi) in London, where he died on January 1, 1782.
he became music master to the Royal Family and he and his compatriot Carl Friedrich abel (1725-1787) initiated the famous Bach-abel concerts at the old hanover Square Rooms, where Johann Christian accompanied the last great player of the viola da gamba on the piano.
When an eight-year-old Mozart and his family visited London in 1764, Bach acted as his mentor and greatly influenced the young boy with his so- called ‘singing allegro’, a combination of Italian opera melody with German symphonic manner which the Salzburg master later brought to such perfection.
It is said that when the two played a sonata together, alternate measures were taken so perfectly that no interruption of the music’s current could be detected. The Mozarts left in 1765, but Wolfgang remembered Bach with great affection, and on his death 18 years later remarked: ‘What a loss to the musical world.’
Johann Christian composed — not very successful — operas, symphonies and works for the harpsichord ‘such as ladies can execute with little trouble’, according to contemporary music historian Charles Burney.
When the pianoforte first appeared in England, Bach paid the leading angloGerman maker of early English square pianos, Johannes Zumpe ( or John Christopher as he wished to be known), the not inconsiderable sum of £50 in 1768 and became famous as a pianist. his portrait was painted by the celebrated Thomas Gainsborough.
Bach’s last years were clouded by financial burdens, with competition from young musicians resulting in declining receipts and substantial loan payments to the piano-maker Gabriel Buntepart, the business partner of Zumpe. Bach is buried in Old St Pancras Churchyard near St Pancras Station.
E.Felix Schoendorfer, Stoke Poges, Bucks. QUESTION My mother said she drank liquid paraffin to ensure good-quality breast milk. Was this a common practice? hORMOnaL changes in pregnancy often result in constipation, so pregnant women used to take medicinal liquid paraffin, a refined mineral oil, as a laxative.
Medicinal liquid paraffin should not be confused with the paraffin (or kerosene) used as a fuel, so it is called paraffinum perliquidum to denote light liquid paraffin. Paraffinum subliquidum is a more viscous/oily mineral oil.
Liquid paraffin works by coating and softening the stool, preventing further absorption of water in the colon, but has unfortunate side-effects. Long-term use has been shown to result in impaired absorption of fat- soluble vitamins. Leakage of liquid paraffin can also occur, causing embarrassment.
Research has shown that accidental inhalation into the lungs can cause Lipoid pneumonia, so caution is required in patients with swallowing difficulty.
While it is an effective laxative, and some people swear by it, it is not recommended for pregnant women. Your GP will advise you to change your diet and lifestyle by increasing fibre and fluid intake and doing light exercise.
If this does not help, they will probably advise bulk-forming laxatives — such as ispaghula husk and methylcellulose — which work in the same way as dietary fibre, or prescribe osmotic laxatives, lactulose and macrogols.
Alice Murray, former nurse, Portsmouth.
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