Christian Gottlob Höpner

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christian Gottlob Höpner (born November 7, 1799 in Frankenberg ; † October 26, 1859 in Dresden ; also Hoepner ) was a German composer , organist and music teacher .

Live and act

Christian Gottlob Höpner grew up in the family of a weaver in Frankenberg near Chemnitz and he acquired his first musical knowledge on an autodidactic path. At the age of 14 he was able to play the piano by listening to the piano lessons his older brother was taking. As a 17-year-old Höpner also wanted to learn to play the organ. He found the opportunity to do so after attending Sunday services by using the organ in the Frankenberg Church. With the wages he received after completing his apprenticeship as a weaver, Höpner bought musical textbooks, practiced independently on a small organ and attempted composition. In 1824 he submitted these compositions to the cantor August Ferdinand Anacker (1790–1854) in Freiberg for appraisal. The verdict was so encouraging that Höpner presented himself to the Hofkapellmeister Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778–1837) in Weimar in 1827 , who advised him to devote himself entirely to music. Höpner moved to Dresden, where he was trained professionally by Johann Gottlob Schneider junior (1789–1864) for four years from 1827 when he was organist at the Dresden Court Church . It itself was organist at the Kreuzkirche in Dresden from 1837 to 1859.

The interior of the Kreuzkirche Dresden 1839 (lithograph by Heinrich Wilhelm Teichgräber )

In his leisure hours, Höpner worked on the magazine New Complete Museum for the Organ . This was intended to be used for the training and further education of organists and was published by an "Association of excellent organ composers". The magazine was published by Friedrich Wilhelm Goedsche's publishing house in Meißen. With organ compositions, for example with his composition “Praeludium et Fuga”, Höpner contributed to a “Hand and Sample Book” around 1847, which was intended both for the study of organ music and for ecclesiastical use. In addition, the church music collection was intended for all organ enthusiasts.

The cross organist's view of the "flexibility of the organ tone"

After Höpner's work "Ten Adagio in free style for the organ" was published by Arnold Verlag in Dresden and was discussed in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik by the reviewer Oswald Lorenz (1806–1889) under his pseudonym "Hans Grobgedakt", the two composers developed a public controversy. The focus was on the question of the "flexibility of the organ sound by the organ builder or organ player". It was discussed against the background that the " crescendo and decrescendo " are musical means to "promote prayer ". Referring to the organist and music director Christian Friedrich Gottlieb Wilke (1769–1848), Höpner answered the question in the affirmative and quoted him in his “counter-speech” with the statement: “... the construction of the organ has now increased so much that hardly more than one wish remains is to be able to bend the organ tone. "

In the main question “flexibility of the organ tone” on the subject of “organ tone and organ play”, the musicologist Eduard Krüger (1807–1885) from Emden took sides with Lorenz alias Grobgedakt.

Burial at the Trinity Cemetery in Dresden

In the newspaper Dresdner Nachrichten in 1859 it was announced in a timely manner that the organist Höpner had died in Dresden, and in a further report the age of death as well as the funeral at the Trinity cemetery was announced. As organist at the Kreuzkirche, CG Höpner was entered in the Dresden address book for the last time in 1859. His son Emil Höpner (1846–1903) also became an organist and worked from 1885 to 1902 at the Dresden Kreuzkirche.

The organist and composer Gustav Merkel (1827–1885) was appointed as CG Höpner's immediate successor at the Kreuzkirche .

Dedications

Höpner dedicated the eight preludes he composed with interwoven chorale melodies and two fugues for the organ to his teacher, the royal Saxon court organist Johann Schneider (1789–1864), which was published in 1830 by the Dresden publishing house der Meser'schen Kunst- und Musikalien-Handlung were.

He was given the same honor when one of his friends, the organist Carl Geissler (1802–1869), dedicated eight organ preludes of various characters to him for further training for organists and for use in public worship . They were published in 1838 by the music publisher Fr. Hofmeister in Leipzig.

The music historian Gotthold Frotscher (1897–1968) praised the chorale works of the “Dresden Kreuzkirchen organist Christian Gottlob Hoepner” and emphasized the “sense of sustained melody” in his “free pieces”.

Works (selection)

  • Op. 2 eight preludes and two fugues
  • Op. 5 Fantasy in E flat major
  • Op. 9 Introduction and fugue for organ for 4 hands
  • Op. 10 Nine executed chorales
  • Op. 11 Ten adagios in a freer style
  • Op. 12 Six Organ Pieces
  • Op. 14 34 organ pieces
  • Op. 19 Four varied chorales for four hands; Op. 19 I "Now all forests are at rest"
  • Op. 20 Adagio in A major
  • Op. 21 Three varied chorales and two fugues
  • Prelude and Fugue in A minor

Web links

grades
Biographical
  • Andreas Sieling : Short biographies by Christian Gottlob Höpner (1799–1859), among others, with a view to his “Adagio”; "Foreword", Breitkopf & Härtel Verlag, 2002
  • Biography of Christian Gottlob Höpner in: Encyclopedia of the Entire Musical Sciences, or Universal Lexicon of Tonkunst. Editor including Gustav Schilling. New edition, third volume. Publisher by Franz Heinrich Köhler, Stuttgart 1840, pp. 624–625; Google Books

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hermann Mendel, August Reissmann: Musikalisches Konversations-Lexikon. [An encyclopedia of the entire musical sciences in 12 volumes.] Reprint from 1875. Hildesheim / Zurich / New York, ISBN 3-487-10896-8 , vol. 5, p. 256, keyword: Höpner, Christian Gottlob .
  2. ^ Salomon Kümmerle: Encyclopedia [encyclopedia] of Protestant church music. Reprint of the edition Gütersloh 1888, Hildesheim / New York, ISBN 3-487-05179-6 , Vol. IA – K, p. 613, keyword: Höpner, Christian Gottlob.
  3. ↑ compositions by "Hoepner" in the trade journal since 1833 ff .; Title page, digitized version of the Berlin State Library
  4. ↑ Christian Gottlob Höpner: "Praeludium et Fuga". In: Körner, Wilhelm Gotthilf: The perfect organist or sample collection of the most varied of organ compositions of older and more recent times . Second volume, 1st issue pp. 7–12 Erfurt / Langensalza [1847]; Digital copy of the Berlin State Library
  5. ↑ Höppner, CG: Ten Adagio in freer style for the organ - Op. 11 - , Verlag Arnold, Dresden 1841
  6. ↑ Neue Zeitschrift für Musik , Volume 18, No. 33 of April 24, 1843, pp. 133 f; "Acta in terms of organ tone, A) replica of the pt (pleno titulo / lat. = With full title) Höpner" and "B) duplicate of H. Grobgedakt"
  7. ↑ Schilling, Gustav (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Entire Musical Sciences or Universal Lexicon of Tonkunst . Stuttgart 1838-41, Volume 5, p. 280 Keyword "Organ"
  8. ↑ Neue Zeitschrift für Musik No. 4 and No. 50 from June 19 and 22, 1843; Full text accessible in Google Books (degitalized)
  9. ^ Dresdner Nachrichten of October 27, 1859; Section Family News
  10. ^ Dresdner Nachrichten of November 3, 1859; Announcement of the funerals that took place from October 23 to 29, 1859
  11. ^ Address book Dresden, Volume 5, p. 79 Col. 1; Digitized SLUB Dresden
  12. ↑ Neue Zeitschrift für Musik , Volume 51, No. 2 of December 6, 1859, p. 220 “Awards and Promotions”; Digital copy: Books Google
  13. ^ Digitized version of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek; Image of the printed dedication by “CG Hoepner”; Title page of the work
  14. ^ Digitized version of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek; Fig. Of the printed dedication on the title page by the composer Carl Geissler
  15. ↑ Gotthold Frotscher: History of organ playing and organ composition. 2nd volume. Merseburger Verlag, ISBN 978-3-87537-015-7 , p. 1170.
  16. ^ Verlag FEC Leuckart Leipzig [1894]
personal data
SURNAME Höpner, Christian Gottlob
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Höpner, Chr. G .; Hoepner, C. G; Höppner, Thank God Christian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer, organist and music teacher
DATE OF BIRTH November 7, 1799
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankenberg
DATE OF DEATH October 26, 1859
Place of death Dresden