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Primary sourcePainting1736

Singende Muse an der Pleiße Title Page

Christian Friedrich Boetius · 1736

An engraved 1736 title page from a Leipzig song collection, showing the kind of city Bach worked in during his later career.

Depicts the city of Leipzig where Bach worked during the height of his career.

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Black-and-white engraved title page with an ornate cartouche reading 'Singende Muse an der Pleiße' and 'Sperontes'. Winged putti hold scrolls and music. Below is a view of a river city with a church spire and rows of houses. In the foreground, people in period dress play music and talk on a checkered floor, and a seated woman writes at a table. Signed lower right 'C. F. Boetius fec.'
Christian Friedrich Boetius, title page to Singende Muse an der Pleiße, Leipzig, 1736.

About this source

What it is

This is the engraved title page to the first volume of Singende Muse an der Pleiße, a collection of strophic songs published in Leipzig in 1736 by Johann Sigismund Scholze, writing under the name "Sperontes". It was engraved by Christian Friedrich Boetius.

Why it matters

The image combines an ornate decorative scene of musicians and a writer with a view of the river city below, showing Leipzig as a lively centre of music and publishing. Bach spent the height of his career in Leipzig, and this print reflects the musical culture of the city around him, created by contemporaries such as Scholze and Boetius.

Look closer

  • What does the decorative scene of musicians suggest about how music was enjoyed outside church settings?
  • Why might an engraver include a view of the city alongside the musical scene?
  • What does this print tell you about Leipzig's culture that a portrait of Bach alone would not?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Johann Sebastian Bach on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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