Johann Christoph Schmidt (composer)

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Johann Christoph Schmidt (born August 6, 1664 in Hohnstein , † April 13, 1728 in Dresden ) was a German composer and court music director .

He should not be confused with John Christopher Smith (Johann Christoph Schmidt) or his father of the same name, both musicians and confidants of Georg Friedrich Händel .

Life

Johann Christoph Schmidt was born as the third son of Maria Magdalena and Johann Christian Schmidt on August 6, 1664 in Hohnstein ( Saxon Switzerland ). His father, the local teacher and organist, and also a former band boy under Heinrich Schütz , probably gave him his first music lessons. In 1674 he gave his son to the Gymnasium zum Heiligen Kreuz in Dresden . Two years later, the boy moved to the Dresden court and from then on served as a singer and instrumentalist for Johann Georg II. Presumably during his broken voice (1681–1683) Schmidt went to the Zittau grammar school and became a student of Christian Weises . In the summer of 1683 he enrolled at the University of Leipzig and returned to Dresden in 1687 as a teacher for the Kapellknaben.

After his promotion to the second court organist in 1692 and a study visit to Italy (probably 1693–1695), he wrote the Opéra-ballet Theatrical Festival of the Muses in the spring of 1696 , creating one of the earliest German works of this genre. Six weeks later, August the Strong appointed him vice conductor, and in August 1697, conductor of the Protestant court orchestra. In the course of the coronation of his employer as King of Poland (autumn 1697) Schmidt became director of the Electoral Saxon and Royal Polish Chapel . He worked in Warsaw and Dresden, wrote numerous stage music, French opéra-ballets and suites. In 1717 he was given the title of “Senior Kapellmeister”, as Johann David Heinichen , who had come to Dresden from Venice, was joined by a second Kapellmeister.

Under Schmidt's direction, the Dresden court orchestra developed into a nationally recognized orchestra in Europe. a. Jean-Baptiste Volumier , Johann Georg Pisendel , Francesco Maria Veracini , Christian Petzold , Pantaleon Hebenstreit , Silvius Leopold Weiss , Jan Dismas Zelenka , Pierre-Gabriel Buffardin and Johann Christian Richter counted. Schmidt's students include composers such as Christoph Gottlieb Schröter and Carl Heinrich Graun .

His brother Johann Wolfgang Schmidt (born November 20, 1677 in Hohnstein; † April 5, 1744 in Dresden) worked as a copyist at the Dresden court and from 1709 as an organist.

Act

Schmidt composed four suites, some masses , cantatas and motets and various stage works, such as the ballet opera Les quatre Saisons (The Four Seasons) or the Divertimento teatrale Latona in Delo . The score of the motet I hope in God was in the possession of Johann Sebastian Bach , it was copied by him.

Works (selection)

  • I hope in god (cantata)
  • Benum est confiteri domino (motet)
  • God, you stay my God (cantata)
  • Let me kiss through your mouth (cantata)
  • Latona in Delo (divertimento teatrale)
  • Fastnachtslust (Opera-ballet), 1697
  • Festival of the Muses (Opera-ballet), 1696
  • Les quatre saisons (Opera-ballet)
  • Praise the Herm my soul (cantata)
  • My heart is ready (cantata)
  • Soar up to your God (cantata)
  • It is firmly established on the sacred mountains
  • Where is such a god as you are (motet)
  • Zion speaks, the Lord has left me (cantata)
  • 4 orchestral suites

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Re-performance in Dresden 2001, led by Ulrich Meier, University of Church Music.
  2. ↑ a b Edition as part of the Monuments of Music in Dresden . (PDF) No. 8 and 10. Project at the Institute for Research and Development of Early Music in Dresden .
  3. ^ Revival of the ballet opera "Les Quatre Saisons - The Four Seasons". In: dresden.de. State capital Dresden, September 1, 2006, accessed on February 10, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Schmidt, Johann Christoph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer and court conductor
DATE OF BIRTH August 6, 1664
PLACE OF BIRTH Mockery
DATE OF DEATH April 13, 1728
Place of death Dresden