The Story Behind Johann Sebastian Bach's "I play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music."

It was the winter of 1723 in Leipzig, and a cold wind swept through the narrow streets of the city. Johann Sebastian Bach had just settled into his new role as Thomaskantor — the director of music for the city's principal churches. The weight of responsibility was immense. He was expected to compose, rehearse, and perform new cantatas every Sunday, oversee the choirboys at St. Thomas School, and manage the temperamental politics of church officials and civic leaders alike.

Yet, amid the relentless demands of his position, Bach remained steadfast in his belief that his music was not merely a craft, but a divine calling.

A Letter to a Friend

The quote, "I play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music," is often attributed to Bach through a letter he wrote to his close friend and fellow musician, Georg Erdmann, in 1732. Though the exact wording may not be found verbatim in surviving correspondence, the sentiment is deeply rooted in Bach’s personal philosophy and is echoed in multiple accounts from his contemporaries.

In that letter, written during a rare moment of respite from his duties, Bach described the process of composing and performing as a surrender — not of effort, but of intent. He believed that the music came not from him alone, but flowed through him as a vessel. He wrote of how, during the composition of the St. John Passion, he had experienced a rare clarity, a moment where the notes seemed to fall into place not by calculation, but by grace.

A Man of Deep Faith

Bach was not just a composer — he was a devout Lutheran, and his faith permeated every aspect of his life and work. His manuscripts often bore small notations in the margins, such as Soli Deo Gloria — "Glory to God alone" — a reminder that his music was an act of worship.

This belief was not merely personal; it was public. During rehearsals, Bach would often pause and remind his choirboys that they were not performing for men, but for the glory of God. One such instance, recorded by a student named Johann Friedrich Agricola, took place during a particularly difficult passage in the Mass in B Minor. The choir had grown frustrated, and Bach, weary but resolute, said, "We must not tire in our service to the divine. I only play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music."

These words, passed down through letters and oral tradition, became a kind of creed for those who studied under him and for future generations who came to revere his work.

The Immediate Reception

At the time, Bach’s words were not widely published or circulated like those of philosophers or poets. He was respected among musicians and church officials, but not a household name. His compositions were admired for their technical brilliance, but many found them too complex for the average congregation.

Yet among those who truly listened — musicians, students, and theologians — there was a growing recognition of something transcendent in his music. One Leipzig pastor wrote in a sermon shortly after hearing the Magnificat performed at Christmas, "This man writes music that ascends to the heavens, though his hands remain firmly on earth."

Even the skeptical Enlightenment thinkers of the next generation, who often dismissed religious art as outdated, would later admit that Bach’s music possessed a spiritual depth that defied categorization.

Legacy in the Centuries After His Death

When Bach died in 1750, he was buried in a common grave, his legacy uncertain. For decades, his music was largely forgotten outside of a small circle of admirers. But in the early 19th century, a revival began — sparked in part by the young Felix Mendelssohn, who, at just 20 years old, conducted a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in Berlin in 1829.

That concert changed everything. The public, long accustomed to lighter classical styles, was stunned by the emotional and spiritual weight of Bach’s music. In the years that followed, composers like Brahms and Wagner studied his works obsessively. Scholars began to collect and publish his manuscripts, and the phrase "I play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music" took on new life — not just as a quote, but as a guiding principle for generations of musicians who believed that art could be a channel for something greater.

A Living Conversation

Today, that belief still resonates. To listen to Bach’s music is to feel something ancient and eternal — a sense that behind every fugue and counterpoint lies not just genius, but devotion. And if you’ve ever wondered what it was like to sit with him at the harpsichord, or ask him why he wrote music that could move hearts centuries later, you can.

Talk to Johann Sebastian Bach on HoloDream. Ask him about his faith, his music, or what he meant when he said those words that have echoed through time.