TODAY in Leipzig, a 2.45-metre (8-foot) Bach memorial stands next to the Thomaskirche, where Bach worked as cantor for twenty-seven years (see cover photo). It was sculpted by Carl Seffner (1861–1932) and inaugurated on 17 May 1908. The grandiose monument depicts a confident composer, his left hand just lifted from the organ, a musical score in his right. Curiously, the left pocket of Bach's jacket is turned out and some Leipzig locals inform visitors that the empty pocket indicates that Bach always lacked money. One day, I stepped into the bookstore of the Thomaskirche to inquire about further information concerning this monument and especially the out-turned pocket. ‘I don't know of specific sources,’ the retailer explained. ‘But the pocket is turned out because Bach always lacked money to provide for his large family. This is commonly known.’ Just having completed an investigation into the extent of Bach's earnings, especially in Leipzig, I found this reaction to be perplexing. Modern biographies do not paint such a penurious portrait of Bach, so why, at least locally in Leipzig, would people today hold such an opinion?

The programme notes for the first Bach-Fest in Leipzig, which coincided with the inauguration of this memorial (16–18 May 1908), cite two contemporary ‘great works’ on Bach as trustworthy scholarly sources: Albert Schweitzer's J. S. Bach (1908) and Andre Pirro's L’esthetiqué de Jean Sebastian Bach (1907). The programme notes encourage readers to turn to these accounts for current research on the composer instead of succumbing to the perspective of him that had emerged during the Romantic era. While this book by Pirro focuses on aesthetics in Bach's music, he had published another book in 1906 with more commentary on Bach's life. The pages that describe Bach's tenure in Leipzig highlight conflicts around money with the authorities and Bach's discontentment there. Schweitzer discusses similar circumstances in his biography, but summarises Bach's financial situation as follows: