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February 27th, 2003
Santa Cruz, California
Received by F.A.B.
I am here, Johann Sebastian Bach.
I am so happy you are reading about my life [Klaus Eidam's "The
True Life of J.S. Bach"]. My life was difficult, but God gave
me the qualities of perseverance and tenacity. I had to be strong
for my family and for myself. I also felt that my music was a calling
and a gift. I was acknowledged in many ways by my contemporaries,
but not in the way you do in your time. Yes, audiences were thrilled
when I played, and I was honored even by King Frederick. But it
was not primarily as a composer. And yes, I wrote many cantatas
that were regularly performed. Yet there were many, particularly
in high positions, who did not like my music, with all its novelties
and bizarre (from their point of view) harmonies. I knew I was breaking
new ground, but obviously could not peer 250 years into the future.
I did not know I would have the reputation I now have on earth.
Of course, I do understand, with all humility, my composing gifts
now, with the hindsight of 250 years of mortal acknowledgment and
spiritual growth in the spirit world.
It is good that you are reading the biography, for I will be able
to
discuss certain points made in the book as to their accuracy or
lack
thereof. Actually, I acknowledge that the author has courage in
bucking the
tide of Bach scholarship. He has wanted to see me truly as I was,
and to
understand the social forces that affected me. You can pardon his
confrontational approach. He does that because he honestly cannot
countenance (from his point of view) many legends about my life
that seemed
to contradict his research.
What I can say is that there were as many blessings in my life
as there
were trials, and I was aware of this because I truly loved God and
felt
close to Him. This took the sting out of many tragedies and misfortunes.
In one sense, I was able to anesthetize myself from pain because
of my
tenacious hold on life. That is, though I experienced pain like
any other
mortal, I didn't let it interfere with those things that I felt
were
necessary to do.
One might think, for example, that being a child orphan would
mark me for
life, but it didn't. For, whereas I always had an ache in my heart
for the
parents who left me so early, nevertheless I early on learned to
trust God.
And, just as you are discovering in your life, I found that help
was always
there when I needed it.
For example, when my older brother adopted me as a child, even
then I
understood that God loved me and was taking care of me. So that
later in
life, when great misfortune assailed me, I did have the means to
face it
calmly. My young wife's sudden death, imprisonment, unfairness from
the
authorities - all these and more did not change my faith in a God
whose
touch I always felt. So that when I came to the spirit world, I
took this
closeness to God with me.
I know you didn't expect an informational message tonight, but
life is
full of surprises, isn't it?
Love, Bach
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