David August from Apell

Johann David August von Apell (born February 23, 1754 in Kassel ; † January 30, 1832 ibid) (pseudonym: Capelli ) was a German composer , writer, theater director and secret chamber councilor in Kassel. He was considered one of the most important autodidacts ( amateurs ) of his time. His pieces are also marked with DFdApell or GCR von Apell (Secret Cammer Rath).

He was a son of Christoph Friedrich von Apell († 1795), a war pay office director in Kassel.

Life

He studied law and camera studies at the academy in Rinteln in 1772 and at the University of Göttingen in 1773 . Then he was an assessor in the War and Domain Chamber in Kassel, where he later became a councilor and, in 1799, an upper chamber councilor. In 1801 he was promoted to the Privy Councilor. In the Kingdom of Westphalia he was director of the domains in the department of Fulda . In 1813 he was a privy councilor in the Oberrentkammer and later headed it as director.

At the age of 18 he received lessons from the court musician Wiesel, but was able to play sonnets and concerts on the piano before that. In Rinteln he took lessons from the university organist Möller and later lessons from other musicians at the court of Frederick II of Hessen-Kassel.

From 1780 he went public with his compositions and achieved great success. For 1786 he sent his cantata La Tempesta to Bologna to the Academy of the Philharmonic, whereupon he was made an honorary member. In 1791 he also became a member of the Swedish Academy of Arts.

In 1800 Pope Pius VII made him Knight of the Golden Spur (although he was a Protestant), which at the same time led to a nobility elevation. In 1804 he became director of the Kassel court theater under Elector Wilhelm I. In 1822 he retired.

In his private life he was less successful. Because of his limitless extravagance, he was deprived of the management of his property. He had been married to Wilhelmine Caroline Amalie Tischbein (1757–1838), daughter Johann Heinrich Tischbein the Elder , since 1778 , but the marriage ended in divorce. Apell died in modest circumstances; his creditors got his inheritance.

His daughter Magarethe Luise Theodora Ernestine Frederike (October 1, 1782 - December 17, 1859) married Major Alexander von Raet (also: Rat / Rath) on February 11, 1804.

Johann David von Apell corresponded with several artists of his time, including Nina d'Aubigny von Engelbrunner , who even published her work Essai sur Cassel under his name.

Works

Apell was a very creative person, published a lot, and got a lot of attention in his day. Today his works are almost completely unknown; the following list can only show part of his work.

literature

• Cassel and the surrounding area , 1792, digitized
• History and description of the electoral Hessian pleasure palace Wilhelmshöhe. 1805 digitized 2nd edition by JC Krieger
• Cassel in historical and topographical terms. Marburg. 1805, digitized
• Georg Wannagat (ed.): Kassel as the city of lawyers and the courts in their thousand-year history , 1990, ISBN 978-3-452-21555-0 , pp. 369-370.

Translations

Translations of opera texts:

• Idomeneo into German
• Interrupted festival of sacrifice in French
• La clemenza di Tito , opera, into German

Church music

1. Missa pontificale , completely together with Credo, Sanctus etc. dedicated in 1800 to Pope Pius VII
2. Laudate Dominum , psalm with full orchestra
3. Beati omnes , psalm with full orchestra
4. Amen , two-part fugue
5. Tantum ergo , in full voice
6. Let our songs resound. Cantata for the consecration of the church in 1795

Theater music

1. Tancrede , French opera
2. L'amour peintr , French comic opera
3. Afcanius and Irene , first performance Kassel 1797
4. The Feast of the Spouses , Prologue 1797
5. Music for the play Hermann von Unna 1801
6. Choirs to the play of Solomon's Judgment
7. Anatreon , song game
8. The Arrestant or Zwey in one person , comic opera, 1802
9. Amor prigioniero , 1815

Chamber music

1. Il trionfo della musica 1787, for Maximilian of Bavaria (with glass harmonica )
2. La Tempeste , cantata 1786
3. La Gelosia , cantata 1786
4. La Scusa , cantata 1786

literature

• Arrey von Dommer:  Apell, Johann David von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 502.
• Robert Eitner: Biographical-bibliographical source lexicon of musicians and music scholars of the Christian era up to the middle of the nineteenth century. P. 176 digital copy
• Ernst Ludwig Gerber: New historical-biographical lexicon of the Tonkünstler. P. 130 digitized
• Eduard Bernsdorf: New universal lexicon of music art. Volume I, p. 280 digitized

Web links

• Discography

swell

1. ^ Friedrich Wilhelm Strieder Basis for Hessian Scholars and Writers , Volume 7, p. 162 digitized
2. ^ Hochfürstl.-Hessen-Casselischer Staats- und AdreßCalender Von Hessen-Kassel P. 101 Digitized
3. ↑ David von Apell. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS). Accessed January 1, 2020 .