Ambros Rieder

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Ambros Rieder, oil portrait by Wilhelm August Rieder.

Ambros Matthäus Rieder (born October 10, 1771 in Döbling near Vienna , † November 19, 1855 in Perchtoldsdorf , Lower Austria ) was an Austrian teacher, composer and organist .

Life

Ambros Rieder received elementary lessons from his father, a school teacher in Döbling near Vienna , as well as lessons in singing, violin and piano from his grandfather Thomas Rieder, who directed the choral music in Wilfersdorf . He received lessons in basso continuo and composition from the choirmaster in Lichtental , Karl Martinides. At the age of 13 he was already composing a mass. He became a student of the cathedral orchestra leader of St. Stephan ( St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna), Leopold Hofmann and Johann Georg Albrechtsberger . He perfected himself by studying the works of Johann Philipp Kirnberger , Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg and Johann Joseph Fux . He played the violin in the Vienna Augarten Concerts and worked as a violist in the Schuppanzigh Quartet . He was personally acquainted with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Ludwig van Beethoven and Johann Nepomuk Hummel and was friends with Ferdinand Schubert (the brother of Franz Schubert ) and Simon Sechter . Ambros Rieder worked as a school teacher in Döbling from 1797 and from 1802 until his death as a school teacher, organist and choir director in Perchtoldsdorf.

He lost a large part of his property during the French Wars in 1805 and 1809, which severely affected the Perchtoldsdorf market. The poor years from 1813 to 1819 left the farmers poor. The school teacher, who was dependent on payments in kind, felt this. Nevertheless, it was precisely at this time that his most beautiful church compositions were created. He was the father of five sons and one daughter. His second oldest son, Wilhelm August Rieder , was an academic painter and the most famous portraitist of Franz Schubert. His other sons and daughter remained committed to the teaching profession.

Works

According to the records of Ambros Rieder's daughter, the total number of works is 427. Since several compositions are often grouped together under one opus number, the total number increases to 512. As an extract:

  • 20 masses, 2 requien, 1 litany, 41 oratorios, 18 graduals, 13 tantum ergo etc.,
  • an opera ("Der Traum im Walde", 1804), 19 cantatas and choirs, 38 four-part hymns,
  • 38 chants with various accompaniments, 2 funeral marches, a string quintet, 10 string quartets
  • 4 violinduets, a sonata for violin and violoncello, 8 sonatas for piano and violoncello
  • 40 variations and exercises for piano, 92 preludes for organ and piano,
  • 154 joints and joints.
Great Mass in C (1811) - Kyrie (first page of the autograph score, Austrian National Library, music collection)

In old age Ambros Rieder became hard of hearing, later completely deaf. Regardless of this, he worked on translations of fugues and chorales by old masters such as Georg Philipp Telemann , Gottlieb Muffat , Johann Joseph Fux and Johann Georg Albrechtsberger . Rieder wrote his last composition at the age of 84, a Singspiel with the title “His Image”.

Rieder published several books, including:

  • "Instructions for preluding and fuging for the organ" (1826 by Diabelli)
  • "Continuous bass in examples" (1833 with Diabelli)
  • "Instructions for the correct accompaniment of the melodies (the prescribed church chants) for the basso continuo, preludes and fugirs" (1831 by Haslinger).

Ambros Rieder's style was determined by the Viennese classicism . During his lifetime, his masses, preludes and fugues for organ were particularly popular and in demand, as they were easy to play and yet very sonorous.

Today the music of Ambros Rieder is almost forgotten. The Mass in C op. 76 from 1809 is an exception . This work was premiered again on the 150th anniversary of death in the parish church of St. Augustin in Perchtoldsdorf .

The “Great Mass in C” (see the facsimile above) was also premiered. The title comes from the composer himself. Rieder added at the end of the manuscript: “Markt Perchtoldsdorf, 12th day of September 1811”. In the chronicles of the Perchtoldsdorf parish there is no reference to a performance. The completion date suggests two possible performance dates: the feast day of Saint Cecilia on November 22nd or the high mass on Christmas day (December 25th) at Christmas. Possibly the fair can also be seen as a kind of “letter of recommendation” with which Rieder wanted to attract the attention of a potential employer.

In any case, the work, which is stylistically classified in the “Missae solemnes”, is extremely elaborate (duration about 60 minutes). A symphonic orchestra accompanies the four-part choir (SATB) and the four soloists: trumpets, timpani, flutes, oboes, horns, bassoons, strings and organ give the mass an extremely magnificent character.

In terms of compositional structure, the work is shaped by the sonata-like compositional technique of that time, but also draws on the stylistic devices of the late baroque and early classical periods ( cantata mass ). The sonata character becomes clear in the movements of Kyrie, Benedictus and Agnus Dei. The mass begins in a solemn adagio and signals the solemnity of the mass act that is now beginning, and then turns into a lively Allegro. In the Gloria, which is divided into different movements, the composer also shows his skills in counterpoint. The “Amen” is an extended choral fugue, a recourse to the late baroque and early classical periods mentioned above. Despite its length, the “Benedictus”, which is consistently soloist, is remarkable. There is also the peculiarity of a solo violin, a stylistic device that Beethoven also uses in the “Benedictus” of his “Missa solemnis” op. 123 from 1823. A happy hymn of praise in the “Dona nobis” of the “Agnus Dei” closes the work.

Rieder's “Great Mass in C” was discovered in the archive of the Austrian National Library in 2005 and then adapted to today's notation standard.

The Pottendorf Church Choir and the Vienna Studio Choir attended the premiere on June 3, 2007.

Appreciation

In Perchtoldsdorf, the school for children with special needs and an alley were named after him.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ambros Rieder Schule, accessed on May 9, 2014

Web links

Wikisource: Rieder Ambros  - Sources and full texts
personal data
SURNAME Rieder, Ambros
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rieder, Ambros Matthäus (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian teacher, composer and organist
DATE OF BIRTH October 10, 1771
PLACE OF BIRTH Döbling near Vienna
DATE OF DEATH November 19, 1855
Place of death Perchtoldsdorf , Lower Austria