A Plymouth man’s evening meal has unexpectedly sparked an international musicological debate, after handwritten sheet music, apparently by Johann Sebastian Bach, was found wrapped around his fish and chips.
The manuscript, grease-marked and faintly smelling of vinegar, was discovered by Martin P., 42, who purchased a takeaway from St Mary’s Fish Bar on Union Street.
“At first I thought it was just foreign scribbles,” he told the BBC. “Then I realised it was music. I don’t play an instrument myself, but I’ve got a mate who once had a go on the recorder. He said it looked important.”
The document, tentatively titled Kantate zur Ehre des gebackenen Fisches, has been shown to scholars in Leipzig and London, who remain divided.
Professor Helga Braun of Leipzig University said the handwriting “shows every sign of being authentic,” citing distinctive flourishes on the G-clefs and an idiosyncratic use of notation in the continuo line.
But Dr Thomas Henshaw of King’s College, London, disagreed: “It is far more likely a later pastiche. The paper stock alone suggests a fishmonger’s ledger, not an 18th-century manuscript.”
The British Library confirmed it had been contacted about the find but declined to comment until the work could be “stabilised and de-greased.”
Meanwhile, locals have taken the discovery in their stride. “I suppose it’s nice that Plymouth might be known for something other than the ferry to Roscoff,” said one resident waiting in the chip shop queue. Another remarked: “It makes the chips taste more cultured, if a little baroque.”
The owner of St Mary’s Fish Bar, Mrs. N. Ethen, expressed surprise at the sudden academic interest in her establishment. “We normally get complaints about soggy batter, not music manuscripts,” she said. “I can promise you, we source all our wrapping paper from reputable suppliers. If they are sending us priceless manuscripts you’ll have to take that up with them.”
Whether the manuscript proves to be an authentic lost cantata or an elaborate forgery, experts agree on one point: it is the first known instance of a Bach score turning up in a Chip shop.
Have you found a Bach score somewhere unusual? If so, let us know.
