Biography
Georg Böhm, a highly productive composer from Germany, left a substantial mark on J.S. Bach while drawing clear inspiration from the performances and repertoire tied to Lubeck and Buxtehude. Pursuing the organist post at Luneburg in 1698, he retained the role until the end of his life, an appointment that carried added weight because he supervised the rebuilding of the Luneburg organ by Dropa. The pathway of influence reaching Bach ran through the Schambachs, Böhm’s maternal relatives, themselves a musically prolific clan located in the same region of Germany inhabited by the Bach family. Böhm in turn absorbed portions of his own material from the Bachs, notably Heinrich Bach of Arnstadt and Johann Christian Bach of Erfurt. Within his keyboard output he employed the distinctive chorale partita form, while additional works encompassed organ chorales, preludes and fugues, cantatas, motets, and the individual Passions of St. Luke and St. John. The keyboard pieces especially revealed Böhm’s exceptional skill and stood as his strongest achievements.