Franz Abbot

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Franz Abbot

Franz Wilhelm Abt (born December 22, 1819 in Eilenburg ; † March 31, 1885 in Wiesbaden ) was a German composer and conductor .

Blackboard in Eilenburg

Life

Family, youth and training - time in Eilenburg and Leipzig - 1819 to 1841

Franz Abt's father was the preacher Franz Gotthardt Abbot (1752–1838), who worked in Eilenburg, and his mother was his wife Maria Rosina Hanitzsch. He received his first music lessons from his father, who instructed him to play the piano. After graduating from St. Thomas School , he studied theology and music in Leipzig . Contemporaries there were among others Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy . After the death of his father in 1838, he devoted himself to music, as he was able to earn his living there. He headed the student choir and the Leipzig Philharmonic Association . During this time he made his first compositions, including opera potpourries and easy four-hand piano pieces for beginners and gave piano lessons.

Time in Bernburg and Zurich - 1841 to 1852

From 1841 he worked as Kapellmeister at the court theater in Bernburg (Saale) . Here he conducted his first performance on February 19, 1841, the opera Fra Diavolo . In the second half of the year he married Rosalie Neumann. In October 1841 he was hired as music director at the Aktientheater in Zurich. In the same year he also became the conductor of the subscription concerts of the Allgemeine Musikgesellschaft (AMG) in Zurich. He also worked as a choir director in Zurich . In 1844 he gave up the position at the theater and took over the direction of several choirs. Among them were the Zurich student choir , the Harmonie Zurich, the city choir and the Cäcilienverein . For these choirs he composed numerous choral works. Other compositions from this time were two- and three-part songs that he used in his lessons at various girls' boarding schools . With his choirs he gave concerts in which he also performed larger vocal works and oratorios. In 1845 he took over the musical direction of the subscription concerts. At that time Richard Wagner was also conductor there . In 1848 he became federal conductor of the Lake Zurich Association, which consists of 24 choral societies . In the fall of 1850, after a nine-year absence, he visited Leipzig. After his return he took over the management of the Zurich Opera in December 1850. In the summer of 1852 he traveled again to Leipzig and Braunschweig. Here in May he held a concert with the Braunschweiger Liedertafel, of which he had become an honorary member in 1850. The work Ein Sängertag, a cycle consisting of thirteen songs, dedicated to the Liedertafel , was performed on the occasion. On this occasion he also met the Braunschweig Kapellmeister Georg Müller (1808–1855), who wanted to win the Abbot for the Braunschweig theater. In Zurich, where he was the focus of musical life for many years, he stayed until October 1852. Although he was promised honorary citizenship and wanted to keep him in Zurich, he went to Braunschweig.

Franz Abbot Monument in Braunschweig (1960)

Time in Braunschweig - 1852 to 1882

On October 12, 1852, he arrived in Braunschweig and conducted his first performance on October 21, on behalf of Müller, who was on a concert tour with his string quartet. During this time he directed the operas Lucrezia Borgia and Die Huguenots, among others .

In 1853 he was permanently employed as the second court conductor at the Braunschweig court theater . In May 1855 he was appointed Kapellmeister at the Vienna Court Opera. But Georg Müller died at the same time and Abbot was promoted to First Kapellmeister. He worked in Braunschweig until his retirement in 1882. In Braunschweig, too, he devoted himself to the choir. Immediately after his arrival, he founded a “ singing academy ” that soon comprised over a hundred singers. From 1858 to 1882 he was the conductor of the Braunschweig men's choir .

In June 1856 he led the Magdeburg Music Festival together with Henry Litolff and Julius Mühling (1810–1880). In June 1858, Abt and his Brunswick male choir accepted an invitation to go on a concert tour to England. During this trip they gave 12 concerts in London. In July of that year he attended the singing festival in Zurich, where he conducted his own compositions. At the Bielefeld Song Festival in July 1860, Abt exercised the function of general singing master. He also took on this task at other festivals of the Association of North German Song Tables .

The swallow anniversary was celebrated in 1867 , the twenty-fifth anniversary of his popular composition When the Swallows Go Home .

Melody of the song: When the swallows go home

In his later years, Abbot received numerous invitations from abroad. In 1869 he went on a concert tour to Riga , Saint Petersburg and Moscow , after having previously visited Paris. In the spring of 1872 he visited North America on a two and a half month trip with the Braunschweiger Männergesangverein. Here he took part in major music festivals and gave concerts with his choir in many major cities in the United States . He has given concerts in New York City , Philadelphia , Baltimore , Washington, DC , Buffalo , Cincinnati , St. Louis and Louisville . In Boston his swallow song was performed by a choir of twenty thousand singers. During this trip he also met US President Ulysses S. Grant .

Abbot was a member of the Freemasons , and he dedicated several cantatas to his Braunschweig Lodge Carl on the Crowned Pillar .

Tomb of Franz Abt (1889) in the north cemetery Wiesbaden

Old age in Wiesbaden - 1882 to 1885

In his early sixties he had to retire in 1882 because of a heart condition and said goodbye as the Duke of Brunswick court conductor. He decided to take his retirement home in Wiesbaden and lived on Taunusstrasse. After a brief illness, Franz Abt died here on March 31, 1885.

It is reported that all the lanterns in the streets through which the funeral procession passed were lit and covered with black cloth. It was one of the largest funerals in Wiesbaden.

He found his final resting place in the north cemetery , where the city of Wiesbaden and the German choral societies erected a memorial for him. The grave monument bears the inscription "Dedicated by German choral societies". It is a short, compact column with a bust that was created by the Wiesbaden sculptor Hermann Schies . His compositions, which were very popular in the nineteenth century, had made Abbot well known. On April 1, 1885, when the announcement of his death was announced , the Neue Freie Presse from Vienna wrote that Abbot would have been known and loved wherever Germans lived because of his numerous songs and choirs . Good night, you, my dearest child , was seen by the Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung on April 2, 1885 as his most famous song. Since it would have been sung so much and often, it would have turned into a musical nuisance .

His son, Alfred Abt (1855–1880), also became a musician and theater conductor.

Franz Abbot monument from 1891

Honors

Franz Abt was awarded several orders, such as the Order of Henry the Lion , the Herzoglich-Sachsen-Coburgsche Merit Cross for Art and Science, the Hanoverian Golden Medal of Honor for Art and Science and the Grand Ducal Hessian Golden Medal for Art and Science .

In honor of the abbot, monuments were erected in several German cities. There was a monument (1891) by Karl Echtermeier across from the Braunschweig State Theater . With the exception of the portrait bust, this was melted down during World War II and redesigned in 1960 by Karl Paul Egon Schiffers . The original bust is in the Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum . Victor Seifert created a monument (1913) for Abbot's hometown of Eilenburg for a green area on the then redesigned south promenade. In addition, a bronze plaque (1887) commemorates him at the location of the house where he was born.

In Eilenburg, Wiesbaden, Braunschweig, Munich and Berlin, street names recall the composer.

Franz Abt was an honorary member of over 250 choral societies. He dedicated four cheerful songs for polyphonic male vocals Op. 97.

Works (selection)

Franz Abt was an extremely prolific composer. He composed over 3000 musical works. These mainly include songs and choral and piano works. He was also very popular in the English-speaking world and wrote many songs and chants with the original English text. He wrote over 600 works for male choir alone. He is considered the creator of both secular and sacred works:

Incipit from Franz Abbot's song "When the swallows go homeward", Op. 39 No. 1.

Songs

  • It's gotten evening, darkness envelops us (Text: Georg Christian Dieffenbach )
  • Pan-Germany
  • I went by the brook (Text: Carl von Lemcke )
  • The lark rises to heaven (Text: Georg Christian Dieffenbach)
  • Are you close to me (Text: Thomas Moore )
  • Things are ugly in life (Text: Joseph Victor von Scheffel )
  • The waves roar wildly around the keel (Text: Carl Wilhelm Batz )
  • Summer has passed (Text: Georg Christian Dieffenbach)
  • You're in radiant clothes (Text: Eduard Kauffer )
  • You know where (Text: Peter Cornelius )
  • The flower blooms (Text: Wilhelm Floto )
  • Farewell, my fatherland (Text: Carl Wilhelm Batz)
  • The fields are mowed, the stubble wind is blowing (Text: Victor Blüthgen )
  • Hänschen wants to be a rider (Text: Georg Christian Dieffenbach)
  • Out into the Lustgeschmetter (Text: Peter Cornelius)
  • I know a big garden (Text: Georg Christian Dieffenbach)
  • The heart lies in the eyes (Text: Franz von Kobell )
  • The night is cool and quiet (Text: Rudolf Bunge )
  • You are my eternal song (Text: Karl Heinrich Preller )
  • The lark rises with jubilation (Text: Georg Christian Dieffenbach)
  • Now the loud day has passed (Ave Maria op.533)
  • If I were on the Neckar, if I were on the Rhine (Text: Otto Roquette )
  • O Black Forest, o Homeland (Text: Ludwig Auerbach )
  • Sleep well in the valley of shadows (Text: Ida von Düringsfeld)
  • It is already beginning to get dark (Text: Emanuel Geibel )
  • Sennenlied, op. 69, No. 1 (Text: Johann Jakob Sprüngli )
  • Serenade (text: Rudolf Bunge)
  • Sonne de Sonnen I greet you (Text: Karl Heinrich Preller)
  • Fir green (Text: Georg Christian Dieffenbach)
  • And do you want to part with me (Text: Wilhelm Hertz)
  • Violets under dry branches (Text: Carl Preser)
  • Gone by the dark night (Text: Georg Christian Dieffenbach)
  • Forest prayer (Text: Leberecht Blücher Drewes, 1816–1870)
  • What you are to me (Text: B. Rudolph)
  • If I were a bird (Text: Georg Christian Dieffenbach )
  • How could I forget you (Text: August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben )
  • St. Albans Mass in C major, op.66

Singing games

  • The king's sniper . Libretto by H. Lindau. Composed in 1873
  • Travel acquaintances . 1 act. Libretto by Xaver Franz Seidl. First performance: 1875 Offenbach
  • The dress rehearsal . Performance dates not known
  • The seven ravens . Fairy tale game 1 act. Libretto by Hermann Francke . Performance dates not known
  • Rübezahl . Fairy tale game 1 act. Libretto by Hermann Francke. Performance dates not known

Choral works

  • Spring celebration , cycle of twelve chants with a connecting declamation, text: Hermann Francke, 1861
  • Sängers Morgenfahrt for four-part male choir op.147, 1856

Piano works

  • Bazaar-Waltz op.22. Published in 1840 by Breitkopf & Härtel

literature

Recordings

  • Ave Maria op. 533 no.1. Hans Joachim Ribbe (baritone), Ekkehard Wagner (tenor), male choir of the Rundfunkchor Leipzig , conductor: Jörg-Peter Weigle , released in 1996 on the Cappriccio label on the CDs Die Schönsten Männerchöre and Ave Maria (The most beautiful settings of Mary in classical music)

literature

Web links

Commons : Franz Abt  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e f g Carl Benedict:  Abt, Franz. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6 , p. 25 f. ( Digitized version ).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l M. Eggersberg: Franz Abt . In: The Lyra . tape VII , no. 13 . Vienna April 1, 1884.
  3. ↑ a b c d Feuilleton - Franz Abt . In: General musical newspaper . No. 41 . Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1841, p. 821 ( bsb-muenchen.de ).
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Large district town of Eilenburg: Franz Abt. Retrieved on December 3, 2018 .
  5. ^ Boston Public Library (Ed.): Dwight's journal of music . Oliver Ditson & Co, Boston 1852 ( archive.org ).
  6. ↑ Major and minor . In: Bartholf Senff (Hrsg.): Signals for the musical world . Leipzig September 1850, p. 340 ( onb.ac.at ).
  7. ↑ Major and minor . In: Bartholf Senff (Hrsg.): Signals for the musical world . Leipzig January 1851, p. 30 ( onb.ac.at ).
  8. ↑ Music and Theater . In: Illustrated Newspaper . Leipzig February 8, 1851, p. 98 ( onb.ac.at ).
  9. ↑ History of the day . In: Franz Brendel (ed.): New magazine for music . No. 4 . Leipzig, Berlin January 24, 1851, p. 38 ( onb.ac.at ).
  10. ↑ Major and minor . In: Bartholf Senff (Hrsg.): Signals for the musical world . No. 24 . Leipzig June 1852, p. 222 ( onb.ac.at ).
  11. ^ Chronicle of singers . In: Illustrated Newspaper . No. 468 . Leipzig June 19, 1852, p. 398 ( onb.ac.at ).
  12. ^ The song festival in Braunschweig . In: Illustrated Newspaper . No. 476 . Leipzig August 14, 1852, p. 107 ( onb.ac.at ).
  13. ↑ Franz Abbot . In: (Linzer) Tages-Post . Linz April 4, 1885, p. 3 ( onb.ac.at ).
  14. ↑ Major and minor . In: Signals for the musical world . No. 46 . Leipzig November 1852, p. 398 ( onb.ac.at ).
  15. ↑ Franz Abbot . In: Illustrated Newspaper . Leipzig December 11, 1852, p. 379 ( onb.ac.at ).
  16. ↑ Major and minor . In: Bartholf Senff (Hrsg.): Signals for the musical world . No. 16 . Leipzig April 1853, p. 125 ( onb.ac.at ).
  17. ↑ Braunschweig . In: Neue Wiener Musikzeitung . No. 37 . Vienna September 13, 1855, p. 147 ( onb.ac.at ).
  18. ↑ Major and minor . In: Bartholf Senff (Hrsg.): Signals for the musical world . No. 47 . Leipzig November 1852, p. 416 ( onb.ac.at ).
  19. ^ A b Braunschweigisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte Volume 77, 1996 . In: Yearbook of the History Association for the Duchy of Braunschweig (1902-1915/16), Yearbook of the Braunschweigisches Geschichtsverein (1927-1938), Braunschweigisches Jahrbuch (1922, 1940-1995), Braunschweigisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte (1996-2006), Braunschweigisches Jahrbuch des Braunschweigisches History association . tape 77. 1996 , 1996 ( tu-braunschweig.de [accessed December 6, 2018]).
  20. ^ Magdeburg Music Festival . In: Leipziger Zeitung . No. 124 . Leipzig May 25, 1856, p. 2969 ( onb.ac.at ).
  21. ^ Albert Hahn: The Magdeburg Music Festival . In: Franz Brendel (ed.): New magazine for music . No. 26 . CF Kahnt, Leipzig June 20, 1856, p. 278 ( onb.ac.at ).
  22. ↑ Art Notes . In: Sheets for music, theater and art . No. 38 . Vienna May 11, 1858, p. 152 ( onb.ac.at ).
  23. ↑ Singing Festival . In: Die Neue Zeit - Olomouc Newspaper . Olomouc July 27, 1858, p. 4 ( onb.ac.at ).
  24. ^ The song festival in Bielefeld on the 20th, 21st and 21st July 22 . In: Illustrated Newspaper . No. 892 . Leipzig August 4th 1860, p. 78 ( onb.ac.at ).
  25. ↑ The song composer . In: (News) world sheet . Vienna April 4, 1885, p. 7 ( onb.ac.at ).
  26. ^ Karl Stelter: How Franz Abbot died and was buried . In: Anto August Naaff (Ed.): The Lyra . Vienna April 15, 1885, p. 5 .
  27. ↑ Grabmal Franz Abt, Wiesbaden In: kudaba, the culture database, accessed on February 1, 2019
  28. ↑ Franz Abbot . In: New Free Press . Vienna, S. 1 ( onb.ac.at ).
  29. ↑ Science, Art and Literature . In: Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung . Vienna April 2, 1885, p. 5 ( onb.ac.at ).
  30. ↑ Four cheerful songs for polyphonic male singing: Op. 97. In: http://www.worldcat.org/ . OCLC, accessed December 3, 2018 .
  31. ↑ Major and minor . In: Bartholf Senff (Hrsg.): Signals for the musical world . No. 16 . Leipzig March 14, 1861, p. 351 ( onb.ac.at ).
  32. ↑ Spring Celebration . In: Bartholf Senff (Hrsg.): Signals for the musical world . No. 23 . Leipzig May 1, 1862, p. 299 ( onb.ac.at ).
  33. ↑ novelties of the last week . In: Bartholf Senff (Hrsg.): Signals for the musical world . No. 34 . Leipzig August 1856, p. 381 ( bsb-muenchen.de ).
  34. ↑ bazaar Waltz by Franz Abt Op. 22, . No. 43 . Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig October 1840, p. 881 ( bsb-muenchen.de ).
personal data
SURNAME Abbot, Franz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Abbot, Franz Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer and Kapellmeister
DATE OF BIRTH December 22, 1819
PLACE OF BIRTH Eilenburg
DATE OF DEATH March 31, 1885
Place of death Wiesbaden