Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford Acquires Rare J. S. Bach Manuscript

The manuscript, containing the cantata "Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein," is one of only four Bach manuscripts in the United Kingdom

The University of Oxford's Bodleian Library has acquired a rare manuscript in the hand of Johann Sebastian Bach: his cantata for Ascension Day: ‘Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein’ (BWV 128). The document is one of only four known Bach manuscripts in the United Kingdom.

The manuscript was gifted to the library as part of the Acceptance in Lieu inheritance tax scheme, and in doing so it has settled £3.65 million worth of inheritance tax.

One of the best-preserved Bach manuscripts, this autograph is a composing draft, rather than the final product — and so it sheds light on Bach's compositional process. In addition, it is well preserved, with erosion being mostly limited to the edges of the paper.

The festive cantata contains five movements, comprising a celebratory opening chorus, a short recitative and aria for bass voice, a duet for alto and tenor, and a chorale to finish.

Members of the public will be able to view this autograph as part of the exhibition Write, Cut, Rewrite, which will run between 15 March 2024 and 5 January 2025. The manuscript will also be digitized and made available through the library's Digital Bodleian online collection.

"The Bodleian has collected music in a serious way since its foundation over 400 years ago, but a significant manuscript in the hand of one of the greatest composers of all time, Johann Sebastian Bach, has eluded us, until now," said Richard Ovenden OBE, Bodley's Librarian. "We are hugely grateful to the Acceptance in lieu panel, and to the estate of Zahava Kohn."

"We are thrilled to be entrusted with this global treasure, collected by the late Ralph Kohn, who fled his native Leipzig to avoid the Nazis, but who never lost his love for the city’s greatest music genius. We look forward to sharing this sublime treasure with scholars, engaging with music students, and inspiring composers long into the future."

"It must be every music librarian’s dream to be given custody of a Bach autograph and the library is honored to have been entrusted with this magnificent manuscript," said Martin Holmes, the Alfred Brendel Curator of Music at the Bodleian Libraries. "Only two other institutions in the UK have Bach autographs in their collections and the Bodleian is proud to be the third."