Johann Jakob Walder

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Johann Jakob Walder (born January 11, 1750 in Wetzikon , † March 18, 1817 in Zurich ) was a Swiss politician , lawyer and composer . He was a representative of the Wetziker School .

Life and musical activities

Johann Jakob Walder was born in Unterwetzikon as one of seven children. He sang as a student of Johannes Schmidlin in the local singing society. In 1774 he settled in Zurich as a piano teacher and also played as a cellist in the city's Collegium musicum . His Guide to Singing , published in 1788, became known ; other works are primarily sacred songs and piano pieces. With Johann Heinrich Egli he published a collection of songs with poems by Johann Caspar Lavater , which had supplemented a similar collection by his teacher Schmidlin.

His marriage in 1789 resulted in two sons and two daughters. A son took part in the siege of the Hüningen fortress and died afterwards of nervous fever . After the death of his wife in 1797, Walder's elderly mother took over partial care.

Political career

In 1785, Walder was elected subordinate in Grüningen . In 1801 he became President of the Municipality (today President of the Municipality ) of Wetzikon.

During the Helvetic Republic , Walder was a member of the cantonal interim government from 1799 and the provisional cantonal government from 1802 and, as such, took part in the daily statute in Schwyz . With the beginning of mediation in 1803 he was elected to the Small Council (today Government Council ), but resigned after three years. He remained in the Grand Council (today the Cantonal Council ), to which he was elected that same year, until 1817.

From 1808 to 1814 he was president of the district court in Uster . In 1816 the government appointed him to the High Court of the Canton of Zurich . Walder died in Zurich in 1817 after a brief illness.

Works

  • Exquisite moral songs (Zurich 1776)
  • Cantata The Last Man (1777; libretto by Leonhard Meister )
  • Chants at the piano (Zurich 1780)
  • Singing compositions with accompaniment of the piano (Zurich 1784)
  • Instructions for Singing (Zurich 1788)
  • Swiss folk songs with melodies (Zurich 1788)
  • Collection of Christian chants (1791)
  • Songs for social enjoyment (Zurich, 1804)

CD recordings

  • Music in Zurich, 1500–1900. (GMCD 7312, Guild Switzerland, 2007)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Walder, Johann Jakob
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss politician, lawyer and composer
DATE OF BIRTH January 11, 1750
PLACE OF BIRTH Wetzikon
DATE OF DEATH March 18, 1817
Place of death Zurich