Johann Melchior Molter

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Johann Melchior Molter pen drawing by Pier Leone Ghezzi

Johann Melchior Molter (born February 10, 1696 in Tiefenort , Thuringia, † January 12, 1765 in Karlsruhe ) was a German violinist, composer and conductor .

Life

Johann Melchior Molter was the son of the teacher and cantor Valentin Molter, who gave him his first music lessons. Johann Melchior attended grammar school in Eisenach , where he got to know the repertoire of the court orchestra in the “ Chorus Symphoniacas ” directed by Johann Conrad Geisthirt . From 1717 Molter was a violinist in Karlsruhe with Margrave Karl Wilhelm von Baden-Durlach . In 1719 he sent him on a two-year study trip to Italy, where he got to know music in Venice and Rome , where he possibly got to know the composers, or at least the music of Antonio Vivaldi , Tomaso Albinoni , Giuseppe Tartini and Alessandro Scarlatti , which had a lasting influence on him . After the end of his trip to Italy, he succeeded Johann Philipp Käfer in 1722 as Kapellmeister of the Margravial Badische Hofkapelle , to which he had been a member since 1717, a position he held until 1733, when the Margrave dissolved his orchestra.

In 1734 he followed an appointment as Kapellmeister and successor to Johann Adam Birkenstock at the court of Saxony-Eisenach . During this time many secular and sacred vocal compositions were created, most of which have been lost. In 1737 the Duke made a second trip to Italy possible for him, during which he explored the new developments in musical life in Venice, Bologna , Ancona , Rome, Naples and Milan. Returned to Karlsruhe in 1742, he took over his previous position as Kapellmeister for a fee of 500 guilders . Molter remained Kapellmeister in Karlsruhe until his death at the age of 69.

Create

The directory of Molter's works (MWV) by Klaus Häfner from 1996 contains around 600 entries and provides information about the individual compositions. Molter is important to clarinetists because his clarinet concertos, which are still played today, are among the earliest representatives of the genre. Otherwise, Molter's works have largely been forgotten. His work was influenced by Italian music in his first time in Karlsruhe, although he also incorporated French elements. After his arrival in Eisenach, the proximity to Central German composers such as Georg Philipp Telemann or Johann Bernhard Bach became noticeable. After his second trip to Italy he was increasingly under the influence of the Neapolitan school .

Works (selection)

Molter composed 11 church cantatas, the Good Friday oratorio “Most painful day”, numerous secular cantatas, 14 overtures, 21 orchestral sonatas, 8 orchestral concerts, 170 symphonies, 20 orchestral menus and around 100 chamber music compositions, some of which are composed with concertos. His 6 "Esercizio studioso" for violin and harpsichord were published in 1722 (Amsterdam, Le Cène )

Concerts

  • 6 concerts for violin and strings
  • 10 concerts for flute and strings
  • 3 concerts for bassoon and strings
  • 5 concertos for oboe, strings and basso continuo
  • 6 concertos for clarinet, strings and basso continuo
  • Concerto for violoncello and strings in C major
  • Concerto for horn and strings
  • Concerto for flute, strings, oboes and horns
  • Concerto for viola, strings and bass in A major
  • Concerto for harpsichord and strings
  • 3 concerts for trumpet and strings
  • 5 concerts for 2 trumpets and strings
Memorial plaque in Tiefenort

Honors

The community of Tiefenort has dedicated a plaque to the composer on St. Peter's Church.

literature

Web links

Commons : Johann Melchior Molter  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Molter's curriculum vitae on the website of the city of Karlsruhe ( memento of the original from June 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.karlsruhe.de
personal data
SURNAME Molter, Johann Melchior
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer and Kapellmeister
DATE OF BIRTH February 10, 1696
PLACE OF BIRTH Tiefenort , Thuringia
DATE OF DEATH January 12, 1765
Place of death Karlsruhe