Was Bach a Catholic?

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I am wondering if Bach was a Catholic. He wrote so much beautiful music for mass, and even an Ave Maria. I know he was German so I do not know if he is Catholic or Lutheran. Does anyone know?
 
The article on Bach in the World Book Encyclopedia says that he was a devout Lutheran.
 
I was wondering the same question a while ago & discovered he was indeed Lutheran. He must have had Catholic patrons that commissioned the Masses, etc. A good resource is the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Music.
 
Actually, most of the Masses he wrote were for Lutheran parishes in the north, which still retained the use of Latin, chant, the concept of sacrifice, and other things that Lutherans hate today. The Mass in B Minor is a different matter, as it was written for a Catholic patron, but it was not suited for actual liturgical use and was sorta discarded. To answer the question definitively, Bach was not a Catholic. At this time in history, people in what we know as Germany didn’t get around much and stayed whatever religion their prince was. Bach woulda made a great Catholic, though 😃 His St. Matthew Passion is absolutely haunting, and although I do admire the settings of the Passion by great Catholic composers, nobody can touch Bach’s setting.
 
When later composers like Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, etc. are writing masses, they are generally not meant for liturgical use, they are writing in a composer’s tradition.

Scott
 
Well he’s not. Bach is Lutheran and a devout one. I would like to think though that he is a Catholic, and I wish he was. After all, he is one of my favorite composers.

Gerry 🙂
 
This story may be an urban legend, but I heard that during the reign of Paul VI, a group of musicians made a petition to open a cause for sainthood for Bach. Unfortunately, it was rejected on the grounds that Bach was Lutheran.
 
Actually Bach did not write an Ave Maria.

Charles Gounod (who WAS Catholic) set the *Ave Maria * to a composition of Bach’s, Prelude in C (Gounod had to add one measure to the music to make the words fit).

'thann
 
Actually there is a great deal of evidence to show that Bach converted to the Catholic Faith. Composition, chromaticism and the developmental process By Henry Burnett, Roy Nitzberg discusses it. As well as agreat book called The true life of Johann Sebastian Bach By Klaus Eidam. It happened in 1760. Bach lived in Italy for many years starting in 1756, studying with Padre Martini in Bologna. He became organist at the Milan cathedral in 1760. During his time in Italy he converted from Lutheranism to Catholicism. Anyway just wanted you to know what my research found…take care
Frank
 
Yea, he’s not Catholic, but sort of one of the top on my list of “Wish They Wee Catholic.”

Wish we could “trade” for some of the Catholics of the past that sort of “embarrass us” 😉
 
I like to think that Bach is a Catholic NOW.
I would like to sing with his choir in heaven!
 
Frankieitalian said:
Actually there is a great deal of evidence to show that Bach converted to the Catholic Faith. Composition, chromaticism and the developmental process By Henry Burnett, Roy Nitzberg discusses it. As well as agreat book called The true life of Johann Sebastian Bach By Klaus Eidam. It happened in 1760. Bach lived in Italy for many years starting in 1756, studying with Padre Martini in Bologna. He became organist at the Milan cathedral in 1760. During his time in Italy he converted from Lutheranism to Catholicism. Anyway just wanted you to know what my research found…take care
Frank
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Umm…J.S. Bach died in 1750, so…I think you must be remembering info about his youngest son, Johann Christian. 😉
 
thann said:
Actually Bach did not write an Ave Maria.

Charles Gounod (who WAS Catholic) set the *Ave Maria * to a composition of Bach’s, Prelude in C (Gounod had to add one measure to the music to make the words fit).

'thann
Click to expand...
Exactly-that is one of my FAVORITE pieces!

Bach was a devout Lutheran, Gounod a devout Catholic-I think the combination is simply BEAUTIFUL-almost as if we’re asking the Blessed Mother’s prayers for the unity of all her Son’s followers!
 
This is all so interesting. Thank you all for weighing in. Question regarding the Gunoud Ave Maria. I am a singer and music liturgist. There are two totally different Ave Maria’s (among the two composers were are talking about). The Bach Ave Maria and the Ave Maria by Gunoud. Two totally different melodies. Am I missing some information that links the two? My understanding was that the ,Bach Ave Maria was the only one approved by the church for a long time but now that I learn that Gunoud was Catholic and Bach was Lutheran, do I have that or all of it mixed up?
 
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