Carl August Riccius

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Carl August Riccius (born July 26, 1830 in Bernstadt ; † July 8, 1893 there ) was a music director , composer and curator of the royal music collection in Dresden.

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Carl August Gustav Riccius was born on July 26th, 1830 as the son of the Bernstadt cloth maker and musician August Gottlieb Riccius (* 1804). His younger brother Heinrich Julius Riccius (1832–1869) was later a violinist in a Russian orchestra in the Caucasus . At a young age he received piano lessons from the well-known music teacher Friedrich Wieck (1785–1873) in Dresden . Since his parents died early (around 1843), he received support from the Dresden art patron Friedrich Anton Serre (1789–1863). He had set up a foundation for orphans and impoverished artists, which had provided funding and support in such situations since 1841.

From 1844 to 1846 Carl August Riccius studied at the "Conservatorium der Musik" founded in Leipzig in 1843. Here he also met his uncle August Ferdinand Riccius (1819–1886), who studied theology at the University of Leipzig until 1843 and, through his contacts to the conservatory at the time, started a career as an orchestra director, composer and music journalist in Leipzig. While still a student, Carl August Riccius founded the Dresden Tonkünstlerverein in 1845 together with the flautist and later curator of the royal music collection Moritz Fürstenau (1824–1889). This association of musicians was primarily geared towards the cultivation of chamber music, established itself in the following years as a counterpart to court opera and was highly regarded by the national music world. He completed his studies at the conservatory in 1846 and then accepted a call to the Dresden court orchestra.

Carl August Riccius joined the Dresden Court Orchestra in 1847 as an aspirant violinist, initially limited to one year. Here he received intensive support and supervision from the incumbent concertmaster of the Dresden court orchestra, François Schubert (1807–1878). After completing the aspirant period and because of his achievements, Carl August Riccius was appointed chamber musician in 1852 and was nominated as 2nd concert violinist of the royal court orchestra in 1858. A year later he was employed as a répétiteur. It was during this time that his first recognized compositional work in the field of vocal music fell with the chorale "Blüh´ ewig fort du Haus Wettin" and the choral work "In blau Luft über Feld und Kluft" for mixed choir.

In the direction of work as a choir director, Carl August Riccius showed clear talents and special development opportunities. This became particularly clear at this time, his actual performance and the yardstick of his sustainable work. In 1863 he became choir conductor at the Dresden court opera. Under his leadership, the choir gained a high reputation and fame that reached beyond the borders of Dresden. The compositions “Un moto die gioia” - a concerto for voice and piano as well as the work “Still is the happy, golden time” for mixed choir - were created directly for his choir work. In 1868 Riccius lived in Dresden Frauenstrasse 1. In addition to his position as choir director, he received the title of music director of the royal court theater in 1871 and was appointed royal court director in 1875. The compositional works during this period referred even more clearly to current events at the Dresden Court Opera. During this time, his incidental music for the play "Ella" and the opera in two acts "Es haunted" were created. In 1877, Carl August Riccius was appointed 3rd Kapellmeister of the Dresden Court Opera. That was the title of a royal Saxon Kapellmeister.

When the long-time curator of the royal music collection Moritz Fürstenau died in 1889, Carl August Riccius took over the office of curator of this collection. This gave him the librarianship supervision and access to a European-wide first-class musical source fund. In this position he maintained numerous international connections to other music institutions in and outside of Saxony and led correspondence with important music researchers such as: the Austrian musicologist Guido Adler (1855-1941), the German musicologist and bibliographer Robert Eitner (1832-1905), the German Musicologist and Bach biographer Philipp Spitta (1841–1894) and many others. During this time, in addition to expanding the collection, he was also responsible for the sale of existing “duplicates”. In 1893 Riccius made valuable sources from the Dresden collection available for the “Vienna Art, Music and Musical Instrument Exhibition”. In this context, he was accused of having handled the valuable pieces in the Dresden collection somewhat carelessly.

Carl August Riccius died in Dresden on July 8, 1893. He was buried in the Trinity cemetery in Dresden .

Works

  • “Bloom forever, you Haus Wettin” - piece for solo soprano and mixed choir, 1859
  • “In blue air over rock and chasm” - piece for mixed choir, no year
  • “Un moto di gioia” - concert piece for voice and piano, 1863
  • “It's still the happy golden time” - piece for mixed choir, no year
  • “Des Rothbarth's Resurrection” - piece for voice and piano, 1871
  • "Now put your dear little head ..." - Schlummerlied op. 20, without a year
  • Incidental music for the play "Ella", without a year
  • "Es haunted" - Opera in two acts, 1871
  • “Pensée, op. 1” - instrumental music for piano, no year
  • "Four songs" pieces for low voice with accompaniment of the pianoforte, op. 20, 1884

literature

  • Rudolf Vierhaus (Ed.): German Biographical Encyclopedia. KGSaur Verlag, Munich 2007

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Karl August Riccius. In: Rudolf Vierhaus (Ed.): German Biographical Encyclopedia . KGSaur Verlag Munich, 2007, p. 363
  2. ^ Karl August Gustav Riccius , Stadtwiki Dresden
  3. ^ Sebastian Biesold: Carl August Riccius . In: Institute for Saxon History and Folklore (Ed.): Saxon Biography .
personal data
SURNAME Riccius, Carl August
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Riccius, Karl August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German music director and composer
DATE OF BIRTH July 26, 1830
PLACE OF BIRTH Bernstadt
DATE OF DEATH July 8, 1893
Place of death Bernstadt