J. S. Bach : Le musicien-poéte - Schweitzer, Albert 1875-1965 (Leipzig Breitkopf & Härtel, 1904)
Albert Schweitzer, (born Jan. 14, 1875, Kaysersberg, Upper Alsace, Ger. [now in France]died Sept. 4, 1965, Lambaréné, Gabon), Alsatian-German theologian, philosopher, organist, and mission doctor in equatorial Africa, who received the 1952 Nobel Prize for Peace for his efforts in behalf of the Brotherhood of Nations.The eldest son of a Lutheran pastor, Schweitzer studied philosophy and theology at the University of Strasbourg, where he took the doctors degree in philosophy in 1899. At the same time, he was also a lecturer in philosophy and a preacher at St. Nicholas Church, and the following year he received a doctorate in theology. His book Von Reimarus zu Wrede (1906; The Quest of the Historical Jesus) established him as a world figure in theological studies. In this and other works he stressed the eschatological views (concerned with the consummation of history) of Jesus and St. Paul, asserting that their attitudes were formed by expectation of the imminent end of the world.During these years Schweitzer also became an accomplished musician, beginning his career as an organist in Strasbourg in 1893. Charles-Marie Widor, his organ teacher in Paris, recognized Schweitzer as a Bach interpreter of unique perception and asked him to write a study of the composers life and art. The result was J.S. Bach: le musicien-poète (1905). In this work Schweitzer viewed Bach as a religious mystic and likened his music to the impersonal and cosmic forces of the natural world.
Keywords: Bach, Johann Sebastian -- 1685-1750; 18th Century (1701-1800); Composer; Germany