Johann Krieger (composer)

Johann Krieger (* December 28, 1651 ^July / January 7,  1652 ^greg. In Nuremberg ; † July 18, 1735 in Zittau ), also Kruger , Krüger , Kriegher or Crüger was a German organist and composer .

Life

The Krieger family had settled in Nuremberg since the 16th century , and descendants of them still live there today. The father Johann Krieger was a carpet maker and yarn dyer by profession. His mother Rosina was a born builder. Two of Johann Krieger's brothers also became important. Johann Philipp Krieger was also a musician. Albrecht Krieger worked as a medalist and die cutter. The main source for Johann Krieger's biography is Johann Mattheson .

Johann Krieger began his training as a Latin student at the Sebaldus School with the church musician and conductor Heinrich Schwemmer (1621–1696). Krieger sang as a soprano in the choir for several years. In 1664 he took part in the “Children's Ballet” and from 1661 to 1668 he received harpsichord lessons from Georg Caspar Wecker , whose pupils also included Johann Pachelbel .

The early years of his career are closely linked to the successes of his older brother Johann Philipp Krieger, to whom he owes most of his employment. In 1671 he is said to have studied composition with his brother in Zeitz . In 1672 he followed his brother to Bayreuth , who was first court organist and later court music director. Johann moved up to the post of organist and held it until 1677. After that he probably worked as a court musician in Zeitz before he got a job as Kapellmeister at Heinrich I's court in Greiz in 1678 .

From 1680, Krieger became the conductor of Duke Christian in Eisenberg. For the next 53 years he was first director Chori Musici and later organist at St. Johannis in Zittau . His commencement of service was the service on April 5, 1682.

On November 18, 1686 he married Martha Sophia Förster. In 1699, Krieger also became organist at St. Peter and Paul in Zittau. His son Adolph Gottlob (baptized July 6, 1698 in Zittau; buried July 30, 1738 there) was his deputy. On the day before his death at the age of 84, Johann Krieger played one last service.

Krieger was famous for his contrapuntal skills, e.g. B. its double joints. Georg Friedrich Handel praised his "graceful piano exercises" and spread them in England. Krieger can be seen in a row with Johann Kuhnau and Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer . Some of his German cantatas are rare examples of the late or mixed madrigal style in a composer of the Nuremberg School.

Extract from warrior Toccata with the pedal C .

Works

• New musical treats . Zittau, 1684
  Collection of chants for 1–4 voices based on texts by Christian Weise

  Part I : 30 sacred verse songs, some with instrumental ritornelles

  Part II : 34 secular verse songs with ornate melodies (satirical texts)

  III. Part : Arias (stanzas) from the Singspiele

• Six Musicalische games, ... all the lovers of the piano s / playing on a spinet or clavicordio ... (1697)
• Graceful keyboard exercise (1699)
• Motets and measuring sets
• Various texts and arias have been preserved from 3 other Singspiele / dramas (1688, 1717, 1721)
• at least one opera for the court in Eisenberg
• Titles of 235 sacred works are known, only 33 of them have survived
• 12 German and 2 Latin cantatas, sketches of a Sanctus , some motets, Magnificat sketches, solo and choral concerts
• further recitatives, arias and madrigal texts (1717)
• Sonata à 5, based on a manuscript by Charles Babel

Editions (selection)

• Sonata à 5 in A minor, for 2 violins (or oboes / transverse flutes), 2 violas, violone (or bassoon) & B. c. from the manuscript by Charles Babel (1696), edited by Sven Rössel. First edition, Collegium Musicum series - Cologne Early Music series, Edition Walhall

literature

• Krieger, Johann . In: Brockhaus-Riemann Musiklexikon
• Max Seiffert (Ed.): Monuments of Tonkunst in Bayern - Volume 30, Year XVIII: Johann Krieger, Franz Xaver Anton Murschhauser and Johann Philipp Krieger, Collected Works for Piano and Organ. Leipzig 1917
• Max Seiffert: Johann Krieger: Directory of his ecclesiastical and secular vocal works listed by his brother Philipp in Weissenfels 1684–1725, as well as otherwise ... preserved; as the 2nd addendum to Rob. Eitner's lexicon of sources from vol. 30 of the Monuments of German Sound Art 2nd part ... Leipzig 1919
• Harold E. Samuel: Krieger, Johann . In: Music in the past and present . Kassel 2003, Person Part Volume 10, Columns 722-724
• Stanley Sadie: Johann Krieger . In: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians . 2nd edition, Oxford 2001, Volume 27, pp. 911f.
• Klaus-Jürgen Gundlach (Ed.): The Weißenfelser list of performances by Johann Philipp Kriegers and his son Johann Gotthilf Krieger: 1684 - 1732. Sinzig 2001
• Franz Krautwurst :  Warrior, Johann. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 13, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-428-00194-X , p. 41 ( digitized version ).
• Hans-Josef Olszewsky:  Krieger, Johann. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 4, Bautz, Herzberg 1992, ISBN 3-88309-038-7 , Sp. 661-662.

Web links

• Works by and about Johann Krieger in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Johann Krieger  in the German Digital Library
• Sheet music and audio files by Johann Krieger (composer) in the International Music Score Library Project