One of the great stories about Bach is when he requested leave from his church position in Arnstadt to see Buxtehude in Lübeck, "to comprehend one thing and ano

One of the great stories about Bach is when he requested leave from his church position in Arnstadt to see Buxtehude in Lübeck, "to comprehend one thing and another about his art" (Bach's words). He walked 250 miles in 10 days to get there. Then he overstayed the one month of leave he had been given, arriving back home months late. You can see some fun primary source material from this story here: https://books.google.com/books?id=LfII_HSZ0JkC&lpg=PR16&ots=4jXmFYdNz4&dq=bach%20reader%20%20problems%20of%20discipline&pg=PA46#v=onepage&q&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=LfII_HSZ0JkC&lpg=PR16&ots=... It begins: "The organist in the New Church, Bach, is interrogated as to where he has lately been for so long and from whom he obtained leave to go." "He has been to Lübeck in order to comprehend one thing and another about his art, but had asked leave beforehand from the Superintendent. "He had asked for only four weeks, but had stayed about four times as long."