CHRONICLE OF ANNA MAGDALENA BACH

CHRONICLE OF ANNA MAGDALENA BACH
(CHRONIK DER ANNA MAGDALENA BACH), 1968
Germany | 35mm, Black-White, 94’ | German
Directors: Jean Marie Straub, Danièle Huillet
Cast: Gustav Leonhardt, Christiane Lang, Paolo Carlini, Ernst Castelli

This film is a chronicle of Johann Sebastian Bach’s life based on a fictional journal supposedly written by his wife, Anna Magdalena Bach, who was also a composer. Eschewing drama to focus almost entirely on Bach’s career, the film is narrated in voiceover by Christiane Lang in the role of Bach’s wife. The acclaimed keyboard player Gustav Leonhardt plays the role of Johann Sebastian Bach.