Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach (1968)

Directors:

Danièle Huillet
Jean-Marie Straub

Writers:

Anna Magdalena Bach (diary)
Danièle Huillet (adaptation) ...
(more)

Release Date:

6 November 1968 (France)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | Music

Plot:

A chronicle of Johann Sebastian Bach's life, eschewing drama to focus almost entirely on his music. Narrated by his wife Anna in voiceover...

Plot Keywords:

Bach | Woman Director | Orchestra | Husband Wife Relationship | Singer

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Gustav Leonhardt	...	Johann Sebastian Bach
Christiane Lang	...	Anna Magdalena Bach
Paolo Carlini	...	Hölzel
Ernst Castelli	...	Steger
Hans-Peter Boye	...	Born
Joachim Wolff	...	Rector
Rainer Kirchner	...	Superintendent
Eckart Bruntjen	...	Prefect Kittler
Walter Peters	...	Prefect Krause
Kathrien Leonhard	...	Catherina Dorothea Bach
Anja Fahrmann	...	Regine Susanna Bach
Katja Drewanz	...	Christine Sophie Henrietta Bach
Bob van Asperen	...	Johann Elias Bach
Andreas Pangritz	...	Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Bernd Weikl	...	Singer in Cantata No. 205
Wolfgang Schöne	...	Singer in Cantata No. 82
Karl-Heinz Lampe	...	Singer in Cantata No. 42
Bernhard Wehle	...	Treble Voice in Cantata No. 140
Christa Degler	...	Anna Magdalena Bach in Cantata No. 244 (voice)
Karl-Heinz Klein	...	Bass Voice in Cantata No. 140
Nikolaus Harnoncourt	...	Prince of Anhalt-Cöthen
Hellmuth Costard	...	Rector Ernesti

Directed by
Danièle Huillet
Jean-Marie Straub

Writing credits
Anna Magdalena Bach		(diary)
Danièle Huillet		(adaptation) &
Jean-Marie Straub		(adaptation)

Produced by
Gian Vittorio Baldi	....	producer
Danièle Huillet	....	producer
Franz Seitz	....	producer
Jean-Marie Straub	....	producer

Cinematography by
Ugo Piccone

Film Editing by
Danièle Huillet
Jean-Marie Straub

Production Design by
Danièle Huillet

Costume Design by
Vera Poggioni

Makeup Department
Guerrino Todero	....	hair stylist: periwegs

Production Management
Günther Maag	....	unit manager
Horst Winter	....	unit manager

Sound Department
Louis Hochet	....	sound
Lucien Moreau	....	sound
Paul Schöler	....	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Giovanni Canfarelli Modica	....	assistant camera (as Giovanni Canfarelli)
Saverio Diamante	....	assistant camera (as Saverio Diamanti)
Hans Eberle	....	lighting technician
Thomas Hartwig	....	camera operator: trick camera
Max Jörg	....	lighting technician
Hans Kracht	....	assistant camera
Uwe Radom	....	assistant camera

Music Department
Johann Sebastian Bach	....	composer: stock music
Concentus Musicus Wien	....	orchestra (as Concentus musicus, Ensemble für alte Musik Wien)
Nikolaus Harnoncourt	....	conductor: Concentus musicus, Ensemble für arte Musik Wien
Heinz Hennig	....	chorus master: Knabenchor Hannover
Knabenchor Hannover	....	chorus
Gustav Leonhardt	....	musician
Leo Leonius	....	composer: stock music
Schola Cantrum Basiliensis	....	musician
Bernhard Wehle	....	singing voice
August Wenzinger	....	conductor: Schola Cantorum Basiliensis

Other crew
Georg Föcking	....	production assistant
Aldo U. Passalacqua	....	production assistant (as Aldo Passalacqua)

Production Companies

• Franz Seitz Filmproduktion (co-production)
• IDI Cinematografica (co-production) (as Gianvittorio Baldi IDI Cinematografica)
• Straub-Huillet
• Kuratorium Junger Deutscher Film
• Hessischer Rundfunk (HR)
• Film Fonds (as Filmfonds e.V.)
• Telepool

Distributors

• Neue Filmkunst Walter Kirchner (1968) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Euro Space (1985) (Japan) (theatrical)
• New Yorker Films (1969) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Kinokuniya (2002) (Japan) (DVD)
• New Yorker Films (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Casa d'Arte di Firenze  costumes (as Casa d'arte Firenze)
• Rocchetti  wigs (as Parrucche Rocchetti)
• Staatsoper Unter den Linden  filmed at: Berlin (as Staatsoper)

Also Known As:

Cronaca di Anna Magdalena Bach (Italy)
The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (USA)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

West Germany | Italy

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:6 (f) | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Eutin, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Company:

Franz Seitz Filmproduktion

Trivia:

Gustav Leonhardt portrays Bach in his only performance as an actor. He is a music scholar of International renown, specialized in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, and a harpsichord virtuoso whose Bach recordings (both as harpsichord player and conductor) are the finest to be found in recording History.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#2.3)" (1989)

Well, great music, at any rate.

Very stark, very drab, no real drama. Why not just make a documentary? This isn't exactly The Passion of Joan of Arc. The only reason for seeing Chronicles is to hear the performances. I love Bach's music and even I found it hard to sit through this misery of a film. The great Gustav Leonhardt plays (in two senses of the word) Bach. We don't get much of a sense of him as an actor, since he's given so little to do dramatically. Mostly, he gets to walk purposefully or angrily out of various rooms. Bach's life, of course, was not an Errol Flynn movie. It was indeed fairly drab and more than a little hard. This probably means that the life isn't a terrific candidate for a film. The music, of course, is another story. I recommend The Stations of Bach. Far more information, for one thing, and some insight into the music, which is, after all, why Bach interests us in the first place.