Bach-Archiv Leipzig - Das Quittungsbuch des Nathanischen Legats - Schulze, Hans-Joachim 1934-; Steinwachs, Barbara (Leipzig Kulturstiftung der Länder Bach-Archiv Leipzig, 1995)
The Nathan Legacy: Payment Receipts in the Hand of Johann Sebastian Bach, 1726 & 1727.Among Johann Sebastian Bach's duties as Thomas Cantor in Leipzig was the obligation to lead his choirboys in annual renditions of motets or chorales offered in memory of benefactors of the school. In 1605 the carpenter’s widow Sabine Nathan donated 100 guilders. Her last will and testament provided that each year on St Sabine's Day (27 October) funeral motets were to be performed before and after the weekly sermon in the appropriate church: either St. Thomas or St. Nikolai.The surviving receipt book shows that the cantors and choirboys of St Thomas’s received five florins a year from the interest until 1820 — for more than 200 years.
Keywords: Nathan, Moritz; Bach, Johann Sebastian -- 1685-1750; Thomanerchor Leipzig (Germany); 17th Century (1601-1700); 18th Century (1701-1800); History; Economy; Music history; Leipzig (Germany)