In 1722 and then again in 1725 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) gave his second wife Anna Magdalena a green music notebook. In them Bach had composed some works for keyboard as a gift to his new wife and over the years she notated in them music that was important to her and her family. They even taught their children music from these books.
Still today children play music from the Anna Magdalena Notebooks. Learn the story today at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29 in a special Lecture/Demonstration Recital being held at Saint James Lutheran Church, West Saint Paul, Minnesota. The event is part of the 2025 Minnesota Bach Festival organized and sponsored by the Bach Society of Minnesota. Performers include Marie Dicke as Anna Magdalena and Martin Dicke on organ, clavichord, harpsichord, and piano. The presentation will be preceded by a short concert of excerpts of Bach’s funeral cantatas put on by the annual Bach & Friends Workshop put on by the Bach Society of Minnesota.
Livestream links of both events are available below. Please join us:
- 2:45 Concert – 2025 Bach Society of Minnesota Bach & Friends Community Workshop Final Playthrough
- 3:30 Lecture/Demonstration Recital – Celebrating 300 Years of the Anna Magdalena Notebooks
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