J.S. Bach’s Study Bible in the Music Library

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Gisele Schierhorst

A facsimile of composer Johann Sebastian Bach’s Study Bible, published by Uitgeverij Van Wijnen in the Netherlands, has been added to the Music Library’s holdings. The original volumes were published in 1681-82, with commentary by theologian Abraham Calov based on Martin Luther’s sermons and other writings. Bach’s copy of the three-volume set was discovered in the 1930s among the belongings of a German immigrant family in Frankenmuth, Michigan. It is now housed at Concordia Seminary Library in St. Louis, Missouri. The limited edition facsimile took several years for Uitgeverij Van Wijnen to produce. All three volumes are inscribed “J.S. Bach 1733,” and many corrections and comments were verified to be in Bach’s hand. A companion volume of critical commentary is due to be published in 2019. Scholars consider the facsimile a valuable tool as they continue to speculate upon the extent of Bach’s piety, and other aspects of his life and music. Questions about Bach’s Study Bible are welcome at: gisele.schierhorst@stonybrook.edu.[i]

[i] For more information see also Marissen, Michael, “Bach Was Far More Religious Than You Might Think,” New York Times, March 30, 2018, available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/30/arts/music/bach-religion-music.html