Georg Riedel (composer)

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Georg Riedel (born June 6, 1676 in Sensburg , Duchy of Prussia ; † February 5, 1738 in Königsberg i.Pr. ) was a German cantor and composer .

Life

Little is known about Riedel's life and work. 1694 enrolled him at the University of Königsberg . He received his musical training from the Königsberg conductor Georg Raddäus . In 1698 Riedel dedicated a birthday music to him, in the title of which he wrote “theol. et phil. stud ”. For the coronation celebrations for Frederick I in January 1701, Riedel composed the evening music of the Königsberg student body as the “foreman of the students”. On May 24, 1709, he came to the Old Town Church (Königsberg) as the successor to the late cantor Chr. Stephanis . At the same time he became stage manager of the Pauperhaus . On October 24, 1709 he married Anna Regina Remmerson , daughter of the goldsmith Friedrich Wilhelm Remmerson, in Königsberg.

The cantor Helmut Kickton is a descendant of Georg Riedel.

Works

  • Passion Cantata (1719)
  • Reformation cantata (text by Johann Christoph Gottsched ) (1723)
  • Evangelium Sanct Matthäi (1721) (setting of the entire Gospel of Matthew [1158 pages])
  • Psalms of David [...] on all Sundays and Sundays Fest Tage (1724) (setting of the entire Psalter [734 pages])
  • The witty secret revelation of the evangelist Johannis (1734) (setting of the entire revelation [710 pages])
  • Harmonious joys of pious souls (casual music) [only surviving work] (Edition: Das Erbe Deutscher Musik )
  • Occasional compositions (complete list: see Georg Küsel, bibliography)

Tradition problem

A few years before his death, Georg Riedel gave the majority of his compositions to the archive of the Pauperhaus, which was later transferred to the Königsberg city archive. There the manuscripts survived for centuries until they were rediscovered by accident in 1923 by Georg Küsel (see list of literature). The works of Riedel, especially the monumental compositions that are unique in music history (setting of the entire Gospel of Matthew, the entire Psalter and the entire Revelation of St. John), have been certified by various musicologists to be of outstanding quality. It is all the more regrettable that the whereabouts of these works has not yet been clarified.

In all probability, the holdings of the Königsberg City Archives were destroyed in the bombing raids in 1944, but the music manuscripts may no longer be there at that time, because immediately after the discovery of Riedel's compositions, it was transferred to one of the Königsberg libraries discussed because the city archive did not have the necessary equipment to store such valuable holdings.

It is not known when and where the music was handed in, as all receipts and notes from the time are not accessible or have been lost. The majority of the holdings in the other Königsberg libraries and archives are gradually appearing in various locations in the former Soviet Union. A considerable part of the Königsberg books were discovered in Vilnius .

Discography

  • Mourning cantatas (Telemann, Boxberg, Riedel, Bach) (Ricercar-Consort), 1990, Ricercar RIC 079061 (reissued 2003 as RIC 224)

literature

  • Georg Küsel : Contributions to the music history of the city of Königsberg in Prussia. Königsberg Studies in Musicology, II. Königsberg 1923.
  • Hermann Güttler: Königsberg's musical culture in the 18th century. Koenigsberg 1925.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Riedel, Georg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German cantor and composer
DATE OF BIRTH June 6, 1676
PLACE OF BIRTH Sensburg
DATE OF DEATH February 5, 1738
Place of death Koenigsberg