March 31st (yesterday) is noted by many as the birthday of J. S. Bach. Bach was born on March 21st, 1685 under the Old Style calendar, but died under the New Style calendar in 1750. (The New Style calendar skipped ten days.) In his region his legal birthday remained March 21st, though in our day many observe the 31st.
Of course J.S. Bach never taught at Wittenberg (though a Bach did teach here in the 1920s – another story for another day). But the Weaver Chapel planning group chose Bach for one of the six statues on the chapel tower in the mid-1950s, as both a Lutheran and a great (or “The Great”) composer.
Wittenberg had glee club choirs in the late 1800s, but the “Wittenberg Choir” was founded in 1930, as a mixed a capella choir devoted to spiritual music. For most of its ninety-year history it was led by only four men: John Thomas Williams, L. David Miller, John Wesley Williams, and the late Donald Busarow. It quickly became the chief artistic ambassador for Wittenberg. Under l. David Miller (1955-1972), it conducted three European tours, one Latin American tour, and one world tour, and it was recognized by the U.S. House of Representative in 1966 as “Ohio’s Ambassadors of Song and Goodwill.”
The link below leads to an excerpt from a 1970s LP, The Wittenberg Choir. The fifty-six member choir is led by John Wesley Williams, and it is singing the opening section of Bach’s Jesu, Meine Freude. The motet was a popular format in the 1600s and 1700s, and Bach was one of its masters. This one was written for five parts. The full recorded piece is over eighteen minutes long.
The choir’s members are too numerous to list here, but the list begins with Carla Anderson and ends with Glenn Zorb; a soloist on the album was Larry Minth.
Jesu, Meine Freude (Motet for five choir)
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About The Project
With Wittenberg now celebrating its 175th year, and the University unable to hold regular in-person classes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor of History Thomas T. Taylor has started circulating several pieces on Wittenberg's history. Some originated in earlier series, either This Month in Wittenberg History or Happy Birthday Wittenberg. Others have their origin in the Wittenberg History Project or in some other, miscellaneous project. Sincerest thanks to Professor Taylor for connecting alumni, faculty, staff, and students through a historic lens.