Henrico Albicastro

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Giovanni Henrico Albicastro , actually Johann Heinrich von Weissenburg , (* around 1660 , probably in Pappenheim , † 26. January 1730 in Maastricht ) was a German composer of the Baroque .

Life

Johann Gottfried Walther expressed in his Musicalisches Lexicon 1732 the unproven and therefore dubious assumption that Henrici Albicastro was a Swiss . This assumption is still widespread today; but also possible is the theory that Albicastro was born in Bieswang , today a district of the city of Pappenheim, as he describes himself on the frontispiece of his sonata collection Op. 1, as Henrici Albicastero del Biswang . The assumption that his family name refers to the city of Weißenburg in Bavaria cannot be proven.

In 1686 Albicastro enrolled at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands as "Viennensis, Musicus Academiae". This designation would mean that he came from Vienna and indicated a position in Leiden as musical director, i.e. he was responsible for the official music-making at the academy, especially at public ceremonies (e.g. the inauguration of a new Rector Maximus ). However, there is no evidence of Albicastro's activity in the archives of the university. In any case, he could not have held this post for too long, because shortly after 1690 others were appointed to this post (François Koopman, Charles de Vray). There is evidence that Albicastro spent several years in the Spanish Netherlands .

From 1708 Albicastro referred to himself as a cavalier, which on the one hand, as was customary at the time, could indicate a noble origin or membership in an order, but also a position as a cavalry master in the Dutch national army. No further information was found about a previous military career. From op. 9 onwards he called himself a lieutenant captain. Johan Hendrik van Weissenburg - as he is called in the military documents - fought in the War of the Spanish Succession in recent years and then remained in the army. In 1730 it is mentioned for the last time in the papers of the Dutch army. He died in Maastricht on January 26, 1730 .

In his life story in Marpurg's historically critical contributions from 1754, Quantz mentioned Albicastro in the same breath as Biber and Walther , with the words "I study the works of Biber, Walther and Albicastro diligently". He must have placed Albicastro among the great German virtuosos of the 17th century.

There is no information about his first works, Op. 1 and Op. 2. In 1696 a collection of twelve of his trio sonatas appeared as Opus 3 under the title Il giardino armonico sacro-profano . Six of these sonatas have survived.

Works

  • 1696 "Il giardino armonico sacro-profano di dodici suonate in due parti, parte I dell'opera terza continente VI suonate a tre stromenti col basso per l'organo" (Bruges)
  • 1701 opera prima - XII Suonate a tre , due violini et violoncello col basso per l'organo
  • 1702 opera seconda - XII Sonate a violino solo col basso continuo (lost since 1945)
  • 1702 opera terza - XII Sonata a violino e violone col basso continuo
  • 1702 opera quarta - XII Suonate a tre, due violini e violoncello col basso per l'organo
  • 1703 opera quinta - Be sonata a violino solo col basso continuo
  • 1704 opera sesta - Sonate a violino solo e basso continuo (not preserved)
  • 1704 opera settima - XII Concerti a quatro, due violini, alto, violoncello e basso continuo
  • 1704 opera ottava - [XII] Sonata da camera a tre, due violini e violone col basso per l'organo
  • 1706 opera IX - XII Sonata a violino solo col violone o basso continuo

In manuscript version:

  • Coelestes angelici chori, motet for soprano, four instruments and basso continuo

literature

  • Otmar Tönz, Rudolf Rasch: Henrici Albicastro . 2., revised. and exp. Edition. [University of Applied Sciences for Music], Lucerne 2011.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rudolf Rasch, Otmar Tönz, Joost Hengst, Marcel Wissenburg: On the origin and biography of the baroque musician Johann Heinrich Weissenburg.
  2. ^ Resolutien van de Heeren States van Holland en Westvriesland… 1730. p. 230. (Ritmeester Weissenburg, Regiment Baron Van Regteren, died January 26, 1730 in Maastricht); P. 247 (March 17, 1730 Hendrik Carel, Count of Nassau, successor to the late Johan Hendrik Weissenburg in the Regiment Van Regteren). [1]
  3. ^ Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg : Historisch-Kritische Bey Seiten, Volume I. 1754, p. 201.
personal data
SURNAME Albicastro, Henrico
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Albicastro, Giovanni Henrico; Albicastro, Henrici; Weissenburg, Johann Heinrich von (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer
DATE OF BIRTH around 1660
PLACE OF BIRTH uncertain: Pappenheim
DATE OF DEATH January 26, 1730
Place of death Maastricht