Johann Philipp Kirnberger

Johann Philipp Kirnberger

Johann Philipp Kirnberger (born April 24, 1721 in Saalfeld / Saale , † July 27, 1783 in Berlin ) was a German music theorist and composer .

Life

Johann Philipp Kirnberger received violin and piano lessons from an early age. After visiting the Latin school in Coburg he went to Johann Peter Kellner after Graefenroda to perfect his musical knowledge. A later teacher and sponsor was the court organist Heinrich Nikolaus Gerber in Sondershausen .

A short stay in Leipzig is documented for Kirnberger in 1741 . A possible apprenticeship with Johann Sebastian Bach is controversial and cannot be proven. After a short stay in Dresden, he went to Poland for a longer period (1741 to 1751) , where he worked in various positions, including harpsichordist and conductor .

In the mid-1750s, Kirnberger returned to Germany to take violin lessons. After working as a violinist in the royal chapel in Potsdam , he later joined the chapel of Margrave Heinrich in Rheinsberg . Until his death in 1758 he took up the position of teacher for composition with Anna Amalie von Prussia and also acted as Kapellmeister and musical advisor at the Prussian court. During this time most of his compositions were written.

His chamber music consists primarily of flute sonatas and trio sonatas; a flute sonata in E flat minor is probably Kirnberger's most important work. A complete edition of the flute sonatas and other works by Kirnberger was published by Amadeus Verlag .

Kirnberger has constructed a total of three tempered tunings. The third, most balanced mood is often referred to as the Kirnberger mood .

As a result of Kirnberger's collecting activity, a whole series of works by Johann Sebastian Bach has come down to us - the best known is the so-called Kirnberger Collection with the chorale arrangements BWV 690–713.

Works

Compositions

• Sinfonia for 2 horns, strings and basso continuo in D major
• Sinfonia in B flat major
• Sonata No. 1 for flute and basso continuo in C major (Berlin 1767, Wever)
• Sonata No. 2 for flute and basso continuo in C major (Berlin 1769, Winter)
• Sonata No. 3 for flute and basso continuo in E flat minor
• Sonata No. 4 for flute and basso continuo in E minor
• Sonata No. 5 for flute and basso continuo in F major (Berlin 1763, Birnstiel)
• Sonata No. 6 for flute and basso continuo in G major (Berlin 1761, Birnstiel)
• Sonata No. 7 for flute and basso continuo in G major (Berlin 1767, Wever)
• Sonata No. 8 for flute and basso continuo in G major (Berlin 1769, Winter)
• Sonata No. 9 for flute and basso continuo in G minor (Berlin 1761, Birnstiel)
• Sonata No. 10 for flute and basso continuo in B flat major (Berlin 1763, Birnstiel)
• Sonata No. 1 for violin and basso continuo in C major
• Sonata No. 2 for violin and basso continuo in C minor
• Sonata for violoncello and basso continuo in C major (Berlin 1769, Winter)
• Sonata for oboe and basso continuo in B flat major (Berlin 1769, Winter)
• 10 trio sonatas for flute / violin, violin and basso continuo
• Piano sonata in D major
• Piano sonata in G major
• Musical Circul in A minor
• Eight fugues for piano (harpsichord) and organ
• 10 variations on "I slept, I dreamed"
• “Praise be to you, Jesus Christ”, organ chorale
• “What God does is done well”, organ chorale
• “Have mercy on our God”, motet based on Psalms 50 and 51

Fonts

• The always ready polonoise and minuet composer. Winter, Berlin 1757, ( digitized version ).
• The 112 musical articles in: Johann Georg Sulzer : General theory of the fine arts. Part 1: A to J. MG Weidemanns Erben und Reich, Leipzig 1771, ( digitized ).
• The art of the pure sentence in music . 2 parts. Voss, Berlin 1771–1779.
• The true principles of using harmony. Decker et al., Berlin et al. 1773, ( digitized version ).
• Principles of figured bass as the first lines of composition. Hummel, Berlin 1781, ( digitized version ).
• Instructions for singing composition accompanied by odes in different syllables. Decker, Berlin 1782, ( digitized version ).
• Thoughts on the different types of teaching in composition as preparation for knowledge of the joints. Decker, Berlin 1782, ( digitized version ).
• Method of schüddeln sonatas from 'm Ermel. Birnstiel, Berlin 1783, ( digitized version ).

literature

• Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg : Notes on the Allabreve of Mr. Kirnbergers. In: Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg: Piano pieces with practical lessons for beginners and more experienced. Third collection. Haude and Spener, Berlin 1763, pp. 28-29 .
• Philipp Spitta :  Kirnberger, Johann Philipp . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 16, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1882, pp. 24-26.
• Ruth Engelhardt: Investigations into the influences of Johann Sebastian Bach on the theoretical and practical work of his student Johann Philipp Kirnberger. Erlangen 1974, (Erlangen-Nürnberg, University, dissertation, 1974).
• Martin Just :  Kirnberger, Johann Philipp. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 11, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1977, ISBN 3-428-00192-3 , p. 670 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Hans-Josef Olszewsky:  Kirnberger, Johann Philipp. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 3, Bautz, Herzberg 1992, ISBN 3-88309-035-2 , Sp. 1530-1533.

Web links

Wikisource: Johann Philipp Kirnberger  - Sources and full texts

• Works by and about Johann Philipp Kirnberger in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Johann Philipp Kirnberger  in the German Digital Library
• Sheet music and audio files by Johann Kirnberger in the International Music Score Library Project
• The always ready polonoise = and minuet composer online