BACH’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM

Devine Entertainment has done a beautiful job of telling part of the story of Johann Sebastian Bach in the video BACH’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM. Set in 1717, BACH’S thirty-second year, the video tells the story of a temperamental Bach whose liege, Duke Wilhelm, stifles his creativity with his demand that Bach just play the old hymns in chapel. With the help of his 10-year-old assistant, Frederick, Bach eventually liberates himself from the stifling court of Duke Wilhelm and gets a commission from Wilhelm’s cousin, the Prince.

The acting, direction and set direction of this video are exemplary, on a par with the top productions from Hollywood. Although a Christian worldview undergirds the story, it suffers slightly by getting dangerously close to antinomianism. Although it is proper to stress each man’s personal relationship with God and God’s call for each man’s life, at the same time, the Christian is called to honor the king and obey those in authority. Either legalism or anti-nomianism (anti-legalism) will lead to false doctrine. Regrettably, this video tends in the direction of anti-nomianism without presenting a clear portrait of Bach’s obedience to God. Even so, equipped with this understanding, this video is a well-crafted intelligent insight into a great figure in Christian history.