4 This oral tradition apparently originated in 1894 from a 75-year-old man, who in turn was informed about the location 60 years earlier by a 90-year-old gardener employed at the graveyard. 1 - 6 Based on oral tradition, it was in the graveyard surrounding St Johanniskirche in Leipzig, “six paces away from the south portal”. Several years after Bach’s burial in July 1750, the exact location of his grave was unclear. Here, we critically evaluate the evidence that the remains are those of Johann Sebastian Bach, including results of our investigation into Organistenkrankheit in 12 present-day church organists. 2 In 1949, surgeon Wolfgang Rosenthal noted abnormalities of the skeleton that corresponded with those he saw in radiographs of living church organists, leading him to propose a musculoskeletal condition, Organistenkrankheit (“organist’s disease”). In 1894, anatomist Wilhelm His reconstructed the face 1, 2 and, with remarkable foresight, took into account the possibility of future research, discussing the possibility of “our descendants in later centuries wanting to examine the skull”. There has been much conjecture about the authenticity of this skeleton and it has been examined several times to establish its identity. A skeleton alleged to be his was exhumed from the graveyard of St Johanniskirche in Leipzig, Germany, in 1894 and reburied 55 years later in St Thomaskirche in the same city, where it remains. We believe it is unlikely that the skeleton is that of Bach techniques such as DNA analysis might help resolve the question but, to date, church authorities have not approved their use on the skeleton.Ī lthough Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) is considered one of the greatest composers of all time, he was buried in an anonymous grave whose exact location is uncertain.
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However, our critical assessment of the remains analysis raises doubts: the localisation of the grave was dubious, and the methods used by His to reconstruct the face are controversial.Īlso, our study of the pelvic x-rays of 12 living professional organists failed to find evidence for the existence of Organistenkrankheit. In 1949, surgeon Wolfgang Rosenthal noticed exostoses on the skeleton and on x-rays of 11 living organists and proposed a condition, Organistenkrankheit, which he interpreted as evidence that the skeleton was Bach’s. In 1895, anatomist Wilhelm His concluded from his examination of the skeleton and reconstruction of the face that it most likely belonged to Bach. Statistics,epidemiology and research designĪ skeleton alleged to be that of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) was exhumed from a graveyard in Leipzig, Germany, in 1894, but its authenticity is not established.Statistics, epidemiology and research design.
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