Johann Friedrich Agricola

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Johann Friedrich Agricola (born January 4, 1720 in Dobitschen , † December 2, 1774 in Berlin ) was a German musician, composer and music writer.

biography

His father, Johann Christoph Agricola, was a “ Princely Altenburg and Freiherr Bachofenischer chamber agent and court director” in Dobitschen, and himself a talented piano and organ player. The mother, Maria Magdalena, née Manken, was a close relative of George Frideric Handel . The foundation stone of his musical education was laid between 1725 and 1738 by the Dobitschen schoolmaster Johann Paul Martini.

In 1738, at the age of 18, Johann Friedrich began studying law at the University of Leipzig . He also took piano, organ and composition lessons from Johann Sebastian Bach until 1741 , under whose direction he played the harpsichord in church music and in the "Collegio musico". After completing his training in Leipzig , Johann Friedrich Agricola went to Berlin, where he made contact with Johann Joachim Quantz , the court composer of Frederick II , and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach , the king's chamber harpsichordist.

After an unsuccessful application to succeed Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel in Gotha at the beginning of 1750, Agricola was appointed chamber musician and court composer of Frederick II in May 1751. Here he composed a. a. the intermezzo Il filosofo convinto in amore . In his position he was not only responsible for composing new pieces and organizing private concerts, but also worked as a conductor, singer, reviewer, translator, reviewer, music writer and music teacher.

The wedding with the Italian singer Emilia Molteni (* 1722 in Modena, † 1780 in Berlin) from the Italian Opera in Berlin also took place in 1751.

After the death of Karl Heinrich Graun in 1759, Friedrich II appointed Johann Friedrich Agricola as the Prussian court conductor . He held this position until his death on December 2, 1774.

plant

Johann Friedrich Agricola's compositions (mainly vocal works such as oratorios, cantatas, songs and operas) clearly show the influence of Hate and Graun. As a composer of songs, Agricola is a typical representative of the First Berlin Song School with its preference for anacreontic poetry.

Agricola has made a name for himself as an organist and music theorist, more than as a composer or singer - at church concerts he occasionally sang the bass solo parts next to his wife . as the latter he occasionally wrote under the pseudonym "Olibrio". His main work is the adaptation of Pier Francesco Tosis Opinioni de 'cantori antichi, e moderni o sieno osservazioni sopra il canto figurato ("Instructions for Singing Art", Berlin 1757), which he supplemented with his own explanations and comments.

In 1767 an extensive biography by Johann Georg Pisendel was published by Agricola . Johann Carl Friedrich Rellstab, one of his students, praised him in his work "On the Remarks of a Traveler Concerning Berlin Church Music, Concerts, Opera, and Chamber Music" as a hard-working, hard-working, critical, but not talented man . Published by the author's publishing house, Berlin 1779.

Music for the stage:

  • Il filosofo convinto in amore , divertissement. First performance: Autumn 1750 Potsdam
  • La ricamatrice divenuta dama , Intermezzo (November 1, 1751 Potsdam)
  • Il re pastore , opera 3 acts. Libretto: Leopoldo de Villati. First performance: October 9, 1752 Berlin, lost
  • La citadella ingannata , opera. First performance: 1752 Antwerp
  • Cleofide , Opera seria 3 acts. Libretto: Pietro Metastasio Alessandro nell'Indie . World premiere: Carnival 1754 Berlin
  • La nobilità delusa , Dramma giocoso 3 acts. First performance: 1754 Charlottenburg
  • Il tempio d'amore , Festa teatrale. Libretto: Giovanni Pietro Tagliazucchi, based on Friedrich II. First performance: September 30, 1755 Charlottenburg, on the wedding of Prince Ferdinand of Prussia to Princess Anna Elisabeth of Schwedt
  • Psyche , opera 3 acts. First performance: 1756 Berlin
  • The sending of the Holy Spirit through the ascended Savior , oratorio (Pentecost cantata). Composed in 1757. Performed on May 29, 1857 in the Petrikirche in Berlin
  • Cantata on the victory of Zorndorf , performed on September 3, 1757 in the Petrikirche in Berlin
  • The shepherds at the manger in Bethlehem , oratorio for 4 voices, choir and solo, with orchestra and organ. Together with: Johann Joachim Quantz. Libretto: Karl Wilhelm Ramler. First performance: December 25, 1757 Berlin
  • The Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus , oratorio. Libretto: Karl Wilhelm Ramler. December 25, 1757 Berlin
  • The 21st Psalm: "The King shouts" , score, Berlin, winter 1758
  • Mourning cantata for the death of Queen Mother Sophie Dorothea Friedrichs II. , Performed on August 27, 1757 in the Petrikirche in Berlin
  • L'ippocondriaco overo L'uomo fantastico , Intermezzo 3 parts. First performance: 1763 Charlottenburg
  • Achille in Sciro , Opera seria 3 acts. Libretto: Pietro Metastasio. World premiere: September 16, 1765 Berlin, for the wedding of the "Prince of Prussia" [later King Friedrich Wilhelm II., 1786–1797] with Princess Elisabeth of Braunschweig
  • Semiramis , play 3 acts by Voltaire. First performance: June 11, 1767 Hamburg, lost
  • Amor e Psiche , Opera seria 3 acts. Libretto: Antonio Landi. First performance: October 5, 1767 Berlin, for the wedding of Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia to the heirloom holder of Holland, lost
  • Oreste e Pilade Opera seria 3 acts. Libretto: Antonio Landi. First performance: March 24, 1772 Berlin. New version: I Greci in Tauri : March 1772 Potsdam

literature

Web links

Commons : Johann Friedrich Agricola  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Charles Burney: Diary of a Musical Journey. Full text at Zeno.org
  2. ↑ Georg Schünemann: The Bach care in the Berlin Singakademie to the revival of Matthew Passion 13
  3. ↑ quoted from Ledebur, p. 2
  4. ^ Il re pastore (Johann Friedrich Agricola) at Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed December 3, 2014.
personal data
SURNAME Agricola, Johann Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German musician, composer and music writer
DATE OF BIRTH January 4, 1720
PLACE OF BIRTH Dobitschen near Altenburg
DATE OF DEATH November 12, 1774 or December 2, 1774
Place of death Berlin