Sebastian in Thüringer Wald: Young Bach at the Wellspring of Genius

Johann Sebastian Bach was born into a musical family in the heavily forested and rural landscape of Thüringer Wald. A sacred heartland of Germany, the woodlands of Thuringia reached the small towns and villages of Sebastian’s youth; Eisenach, Ohrdruf and Mühlhausen. To the Thuringians, the forest wilderness retained a powerful aura and its sylvan myths served as inspiration to German poets for centuries to come. It was also the heart of Lutheranism where churches roared with hymns and church bells rang to ward off threats emanating from the forest or the devil. In this isolated cultural world, Bach received his earliest and most significant musical and spiritual influences. Under the guidance of his elders, Sebastian’s prodigious talent began to flourish and his musical sensibilities developed as he discovered composers such as Buxtehude, Pachelbel and Reincken on a remarkable musical journey.