Philipp Heinrich Erlebach

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Philipp Heinrich Erlebach (born July 25, 1657 in Esens / East Friesland , † April 17, 1714 in Rudolstadt ( Thuringia )) was a Baroque composer .

Life

Philipp Heinrich Erlebach was baptized in his birthplace Esens as the son of the former musician at the court of Count Ulrich II of East Friesland and later Bailiff Johann Philipp Erlebach (1604–1660) and his wife Grete Henrichs . He probably received his training at the Ostfriesischer Hof in Aurich .

As early as 1681, Erlebach was appointed Capelldirector by Count Albert Anton . His future duties and obligations were described in detail in his certificate of appointment. Here it was said, among other things, that he “had to do the proper musical duties both in the church and for the table, how and where we will prescribe it, but he is free to choose either his own composition or others according to his well-being to use ".

The family ties of the Cirksena rulers to the Thuringian residences may have helped him to get a job at the court of Count Albert Anton von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt , where he worked for 35 years.

During his creative period, he developed the small residential town into a center of musical life. His reputation went far beyond the country's borders. The music theorist and writer Wolfgang Caspar Printz , who was well-known at the time , said in one of his best-known writings: "From there I came to Rudolstadt / there is Mr. Erlebach Capellmeister with the Count von Schwarzburg, who gives the most satisfaction among the German composers / and excels excellently ... "

During his lifetime Erlebach was first known for his instrumental works.

His collection of songs, “God-sanctified Singing Hour”, printed in Rudolstadt in 1704 with the texts of the Rudolstadt count informator Christoph Helm, is also considered important for the history of German song . It is also the earliest surviving sheet music print from Rudolstadt.

In October 1705, Erlebach accompanied his lord Albert Anton to Mühlhausen, where he solemnly accepted the hereditary homage to the imperial city on behalf of Emperor Joseph I. On this occasion, the count had commissioned his conductor to write the music for the festival and to bring it to a solemn performance. These "Musicalia at the Actu Homagiali" include the vocal concert "Exultemus, gaudeamus", a serenade and a march. In addition to the works mentioned above, Erlebach wrote oratorios and motets for all major church festivals . When the secular cultivation of music at court became more important, operas followed, such as the work "The Pleiades " performed in Braunschweig in 1693 . He also composed so-called pastourelles (shepherd's pieces), ballet music and numerous cantatas .

The musicologist and former conductor of the Rudolstadt theater orchestra, Peter Gülke, comments on the songs of Erlebach :

“The works reflect the whole diversity of what the 17th century summarized under the term of the song. The boundaries between the solo cantata and the aria are fluid. Erlebach's collections are the last of their kind - certainly not by chance, because in the historical context the Rudolstädter Hof can be seen as a 'retreat' for that mood of life without which the song production of the 17th century, especially since the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War , is unthinkable. "

family

Erlebach married Elisabeth Catharina Eberhard on October 9, 1683 . The couple had eight children, of whom two sons and three daughters survived.

Works (selection)

His compositions include cantatas and songs, orchestral and chamber music , operas and oratorios . Most of his works (over 1000 compositions) were destroyed in a castle fire in Rudolstadt in 1735, making Erlebach almost completely forgotten. Nowadays, his legacy is mainly cultivated in his place of birth, Esens, and his place of work, Rudolstadt. A few compositions have survived (around 70 were not destroyed in the fire), but some only in handwritten form.

Operas

  • The Plejades or The Seven Stars (Braunschweig 1693, libretto: Friedrich Christian Bressand)
  • Singing innocence under the example of Hunoni, Count of Oldenburg (Rudolstadt 1702)

Orchestral works

  • VI Ouvertures avec leurs Airs à la Manière française
  • Sonatas No. 1–6 for violin, viola da gamba & bc
  • Sonatas No. 1–6 for 2 violins & bc

Other vocal works

  • Actus Homagiali, Joseph's New Kayser Throne (Serenata)
  • Oh that I had enough water (cantata for the 10th Sunday after Trinity)
  • Hero, you have bound the enemy (cantata for the 1st Easter day / Easter Sunday)
  • I want to see you again (cantata for the 2nd Easter day / Easter Monday)
  • The love of God is poured out (cantata for the 1st day of Pentecost / Pentecost Sunday)
  • See, I was very worried about consolation (cantata for the 2nd Sunday after Trinity)
  • Restless thoughts, stop worrying (Singing hour sanctified by God, Rudolstadt 1674)
  • Who are they dressed in white clothes (cantata for the 1st Sunday after Trinity; originally funeral music for Countess Maria Susanna)
  • Sad heart, rejoice! (Singing hour sanctified by God, Rudolstadt 1704)
  • Do not be afraid (Cantata for Christmas Day)
  • Harmonious joy of musical friends (collection of arias; Nuremberg 1697 and 1710)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Peter Gülke: Music and Musicians in Rudolstadt . Special issue of the Rudolstädter Heimathefte, 1963
  2. ↑ Bernd Baselt: The music collection of the Schwarzburg – Rudolstädtische Hofkapelle under Philipp Heinrich Erlebach (1657–1714) . In: Scientific journal of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 1963, special issue
personal data
SURNAME Erlebach, Philipp Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German baroque composer
DATE OF BIRTH July 25, 1657
PLACE OF BIRTH Esens
DATE OF DEATH April 17, 1714
Place of death Rudolstadt