Valentin Rathgeber

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Signature: Joannes Valentinus Rathgeber

Johann Valentin Rathgeber (born April 3, 1682 in Oberelsbach ; † June 2, 1750 in the Banz Monastery ) was a German Benedictine monk , composer , organist and choir director of the Baroque era .

Live and act

Valentin Rathgeber's birthplace and the parish church in Oberelsbach

Valentin Rathgeber was the sixth child of the married couple Valentin Rathgeber (1643–1711) and Anna Rathgeber, née Scheuplein. He received his first music lessons from his father, teacher and organist in Oberelsbach. After attending Latin school , at the age of 19, he began studying at the University of Würzburg in 1701 , initially in the subjects of rhetoric , mathematics and law . Later he switched to theology . He took up his first position in 1704 as a schoolmaster and organist at the Juliusspital in Würzburg . In 1707 he took over the position of musician and valet at the abbot of the Banz monastery, Kilian Düring (1641-1720). On November 26th of that year he entered the Benedictine order as a novice and on December 26th, 1708 made the monk's vows ("profession"). On September 21, 1709 received in Wurzburg Kiliansdom the Subdiakonatsweihe , on 20 September, the diaconate and finally on 19 December 1711 ordination . As a religious name he chose his second baptismal name, Valentin. Since then he has worked as an organist, choirmaster and preacher, later also as a Regens at Banz Monastery, where he stayed until the end of his life. The International Valentin-Rathgeber-Society was founded to research the biography and works of Rathgeber .

Monument in the Banz monastery courtyard

In the years 1729–1738 the composer undertook a study trip that was probably not permitted after his request to be able to learn more about the innovations in the musical field during the trip was rejected by the abbot. Documented stops on this trip included Mainz , Bonn , Cologne , Trier and Stuttgart ; from 1731 he traveled through Montfort Castle , 1732 Wettingen (in the Swiss canton of Aargau ), Pfäfers near St. Gallen , 1733 Wasserburg , Habach am Staffelsee and 1734 to the Upper Bavarian monastery Scheyern . Most of the time he stayed in Benedictine monasteries and thanked his hosts with dedications of his compositions. In the years 1734 to 1738 Rathgeber stayed mainly in Augsburg and Munich and in between spent 1735 visiting the Benedictine monasteries of Admont in Styria and Pannonhalma near Raab in Hungary.

Banz Monastery

On September 2, Rathgeber returned to Banz Monastery. Because of his unauthorized departure nine years earlier, he was initially detained for 17 days and allegedly spent this time in an underground prison of the monastery. Subsequently, after confession and renewal of the religious vows, he was accepted back into the religious community on the basis of the intercession of patrons and was allowed to exercise his previous offices again. In 1744 his name was mentioned in the guest list of the health resort Bad Kissingen . Rathgeber suffered from gout in the last years of his life and died in June 1750 as a result of a stroke .

Whether the composer left his monastery with or without the consent of the abbot for the educational trip is controversial. After he stayed mainly in other Benedictine monasteries during this time, this fact speaks against an unauthorized departure because the abbots of the other monasteries would then not have been allowed to accept him according to the Benedictine rule; he would then have been considered a " gyrovage " (randomly wandering monk, RB 61, 13-14). On the other hand, the documented stay in prison and perhaps also the renewal of the vow speak for an unauthorized departure. However, this conclusion is weakened by the fact that monks were not allowed to tell anything about their experiences outside the monastery after a long journey (RB 67.5) and, for this purpose, had to live a certain time apart from the other monks in greater seclusion. In addition, the renewal of the vows among the Benedictines is customary anyway at regular intervals.

meaning

Valentin Rathgeber was a versatile and productive composer who primarily had the practical requirements of performing music in rural parishes in mind. His works were published in Augsburg from 1721, and he made a name for himself as a composer of easily performed church music, for which he recognized a large market and only opened it in the first place. During the years of wandering he was also able to record successes in the field of secular music: his compositions and arrangements in his Tafel-Confect met with a great response. However, his focus was on sacred vocal music. His complete works include several hundred opus numbers, which mainly consist of masses , hymns , arias , litanies , requiums , magnificats , offerings and instrumental concerts.

His Augsburger Tafel-Confect (short for ear-pleasing and mind-delighting Tafel-Confect ) is a collection of songs from which music should be played for dessert, in contrast to table music for the main course. He published them in three books in 1733, 1737 and 1739; Johann Caspar Seyfert (1697–1767) added a fourth book in 1746. A similar collection was created in 1740 with the Ostrach song manuscript , which is ascribed to the Cistercian father Theobald Vogler. The anonymously published Tafel-Confect (published by Friedlaender 1902) follows the tradition of the printed Quodlibet accompanied by figured bass , as it was in the 17th century by Jacob Banwart (1609–1657), Samuel Friedrich Capricornus (1628– 1665), Wolfgang Carl Briegel (1626–1712) and others composed and published. Like these, Rathgeber's Quodlibets deal, for example, with popular topics, competitions between professions, student life, and caricature the practice of music with skillful musical irony, albeit partially with anti-Semitic affects. A whole series of pieces is almost scenic, which thus protrude into the realm of the secular cantata . The composer partly borrowed texts and melodies from the popular songs of his time - similar to the Quodlibet in Bach's Goldberg Variations ( BWV 988), the melodic model of which is also in the Tafel-Confect : "Salvete hospites" (in the 2nd part, No. 7); on the other hand there are new compositions by Rathgeber. This collection was of particular importance for the music of the 18th century, which is shown by the fact that it became a material pool for later composers. The musicologist D. Cushman demonstrated this in 1973 using the example of Joseph Haydn .

Works

According to the research status of 2015, the following works by Valentin Rathgeber have been preserved: 164 Offertories , 61 Marian antiphons , 42 masses , 36 hymns , 16 sacred arias , 15 psalms , 14 Vespers , 13 litanies , 1 Requiem , 8 Miserere-, 6 Tantum ergo- , three Tenebrae -, three Magnificat -, two Te Deum -, two Libera-me settings, one Compline , 60 "percussion arias" (for keyboard instruments), including 10 pastorels for the Christmas season, 39 songs (such as words and sages the well-known song Alleweil a little funny ) and arias from the Augsburg Tafelconfect as well as 24 instrumental concerts.

Rathgeber exhibition 2011 in Bamberg
Rathgeber's birthplace, model of the traveling exhibition
  • Opus I Octava musica clavium octo musicarum in Missis octo musicalibus ( mass compositions)
  • Opus II (Vespers)
  • Opus III (masses)
  • Opus IV (offers with instrumental accompaniment)
  • Opus V (antiphons for the church year )
  • Opus VI Chelys sonora (24 secular instrumental concerts , 1728)
  • Opus VII (Masses for the Church Year)
  • Opus VIII (Requien and Libera)
  • Opus IX Psalmodia vespertina (Vespers cycle)
  • Opus X (Latin and German arias)
  • Opus XI (hymns)
  • Opus XII (rural and city fairs)
  • Opus XIII (Miserere and Tantum ergo)
  • Opus XIV (Offertory cycle in 3 parts)
  • Opus XV (Offertories)
  • Opus XVI (Antiphons)
  • Opus XVII (Vespers cycle)
  • Opus XVIII (litanies)
  • Opus XIX (Masses)
  • Opus XX (Offertories)
  • Opus XXI Ears-pleasing and soul-pleasing Tafel-Confect. Consists of four books of 1- to 4-part songs and instrumental works. (1733, 1737, 1746, also called Augsburger Tafel-Confect )
  • Opus XXII Musical pastime (1743, 60 arias for a keyboard instrument, including 10 pastorals for the Christmas season).

Example of Rathgeber's instrumental style

Aria pastorella (Ulrich Metzner, organ)

Sound recordings

  • Valentin Rathgeber: "Ears-pleasing and mind-delighting table confect (selection)", Augsburger Tafelkonfekt , Carus, Stuttgart 1985
  • Music from Banz Monastery. Works by the Franconian Baroque master Father Valentin Rathgeber : Missa Sanctorum Apostolorum and percussion arias, Chamber Choir of the Hans Sachs Choir Nuremberg, Franconian Chamber Orchestra Nuremberg, conducted by Wolfgang Riedelbauch, Mitra Digital, 1994
  • Valentin Rathgeber: Missa in F major "Declina a malo" , Wollaberg mixed choir, conductor: Siegfried Spindler, 1997
  • Johann Valentin Rathgeber. Spiritual works , Valentin-Rathgeber-Society, 1998
  • Rejoice, Queen of Heaven. Valentin Rathgeber, Marienwerke , Valentin-Rathgeber-Society, 2004
  • Augsburg confectionary. canto tanto ( Monika Frimmer , Christa Bonhoff , Dantes Diwiak , Peter Kooij ), Das Neu-Opened Orchester, conducted by Jürgen Sonnentheil . cpo, 2005.
  • Mass by Muri , Concerti, Capella Murensis, ensemble arcimboldo, conducted by Johannes Strobl / Thilo Hirsch, Audite, 2007
  • Johann Valentin Rathgeber. Rosary Queen , Valentin-Rathgeber-Society, 2007
  • Missa SP Benedicti in B flat major , Monteverdi-Ensemble Würzburg, conductor: Matthias Beckert , cpo, 2010
  • Baroque Vespers in honor of Saint Benedict , Valentin-Rathgeber-Society, 2011.

broadcast

Exhibitions, symposia and lectures

Exhibitions

Symposia

  • Rathgeber in Context , First International Rathgeber Symposium (June 2007)
  • On the threshold of classical music - Johann Valentin Rathgeber , Second International Rathgeber Symposium (June 2010).

Lectures

  • Johann Valentin Rathgeber. Life - work - meaning , lecture by Erasmus Gaß , Bad Kissingen, April 9, 2009
  • Keeping track of the times - a monastery composer looking for clay , lecture by Ludger Stühlmeyer, Hof, July 6, 2012
  • I was devoted to monastery life , lecture by Berthold Gaß, St. Ottilien, May 26, 2013.

Buildings and places named after Rathgeber

Valentin-Rathgeber-Haus, today a museum in Oberelsbach
Rathgeber fountain in Oberelsbach

building

  • Valentin-Rathgeber-House; Museum in Oberelsbach
  • Rathgeber fountain in front of the Elstalhalle in Oberelsbach
  • Valentin-Rathgeber-School Oberelsbach
  • Father Valentin Rathgeber School in Unnersdorf ( Bad Staffelstein )

Streets

  • Valentin-Rathgeber-Strasse in Bamberg (Babenberg district)
  • Valentin-Rathgeber-Strasse in Bad Kissingen
  • Pater-Valentin-Rathgeber-Strasse in Bad Staffelstein
  • Rathgeberstrasse in Herzogenaurach
  • Rathgeberstrasse in Ingolstadt (Piusviertel)
  • Rathgeberstrasse in Munich-Moosach
  • Valentin-Rathgeber-Strasse in Bad Neustadt an der Saale
  • Rathgeberstrasse in Oberelsbach
  • Rathgeberstrasse in Wangen im Allgäu

Literature (selection)

  • Robert Eitner :  Rathgeber, Valentin . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 27, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1888, p. 352.
  • Max Hellmuth: The baroque composer Valentin Rathgeber , Phil. Diss., Erlangen 1943
  • H.-J. Moser: History of the polyphonic figured bass song and the Quodlibet in the German Baroque , 2nd edition, Hildesheim 1966
  • D. Cushman: Joseph Haydn's Melodic Materials , dissertation at Boston University 1973
  • Otto origin: Valentin Rathgeber , in: Handbuch der Musikwissenschaft, Volume 2 - Die Katholische Kirchenmusik , Laaber Verlag, Wiesbaden 1979, Chapter 4, p. 228 and following
  • Elizabeth Roche: Rathgeber, Johann Valentin , in: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , Volume 15, London 1980, pp. 598-599
  • Alfred Baumgartner: Valentin Rathgeber , in: The great music guide, Volume 2 - Barockmusik , Kiesel Verlag 1981, p. 560
  • Hans Kleiner, Erhard Nowak: Only those who love music. Valentin Rathgeber, Home, Origin, Life and Work , Dietrich Pfaehler Publishing House, Neustadt an der Saale 1981, ISBN 3-922923-08-9
  • W. Braun: Librettistics in Augsburg Confectionery (1746) , in: Musik in Bayern No. 35, 1987, pp. 81–88
  • Franz Krautwurst : Rathgeber, Johann Valentin , in: The music in past and present , 1st edition, Volume 7, Kassel 1989, pp. 19–22
  • Wilfried Dotzauer:  Rathgeber, Johann Valentin. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 21, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-428-11202-4 , p. 178 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Franz Krautwurst: News on the life and reception history of Valentin Rathgebers OSB (1682–1750) , in: Musik in Bayern No. 50, 1995, pp. 45–57
  • J. Dahlberg: Valentin Rathgeber: The forgotten anniversary , in: Musica sacra No. 120, 2000, issue 3, pp. 5-7
  • Arnold Feil : Valentin Rathgeber , in: Metzler Musik Chronik , Stuttgart / Weimar 2005, p. 279 and the following
  • Wilfried Dotzauer: Aspects of Franconian church music of the 18th century in the Bamberg area , in: Ludger Stühlmeyer (Ed.): Stations of church music in the Archdiocese of Bamberg , Bamberg 2007, pp. 41–52
  • Berthold Gaß:  Rathgeber, Johann Valentin. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 32, Bautz, Nordhausen 2011, ISBN 978-3-88309-615-5 , Sp. 1117-1158.
  • Ludger Stühlmeyer : Johann Valentin Rathgeber , a contribution to the traveling exhibition 2011, in: Heinrichsblatt , 32nd Catholic weekly newspaper of the Archdiocese of Bamberg, Bamberg in August 2011 and Catholic Sunday newspaper for Germany , Cologne, in August 2011
  • Ludger Stühlmeyer: Keeping an eye on the pulse of the times - the monastery composer Johann Valentin Rathgeber. Hard-working cantor's son with a spiraling course of study , in: Musica sacra , 132nd year, volume 2, Kassel 2012, pp. 80–81
  • Ludger Stühlmeyer: Johann Valentin Rathgeber. Cantor, composer and Benedictine , in: Yearbook of the Archdiocese of Bamberg , 91st year 2016, Heinrichs-Verlag Bamberg, June 2015, pp. 52–57
  • Barbara Stühlmeyer , Ludger Stühlmeyer: Johann Valentin Rathgeber. Life and Work , Verlag Sankt Michaelsbund , Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-943135-78-7 .

Web links

Commons : Valentin Rathgeber  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Vita Rathgeber's Valentin-Rathgeber-Society (accessed on September 2, 2011)
  2. ^ Vita Rathgeber's Valentin-Rathgeber-Society (accessed on September 2, 2011)
  3. ^ Ludger Stühlmeyer : Johann Valentin Rathgeber . In: Heinrichsblatt Bamberg, August 2011.
  4. ^ Rainer Bayreuther: Rathgeber, Johann Valentin , in: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.), The Music in Past and Present , second edition, personal section, Volume 13 (Pal-Rib), Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2005, ISBN 3-7618 -1133-0 , column 1303-1305
  5. ↑ Marc Honegger, Günther Massenkeil : The Great Lexicon of Music , Volume 7, Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1982, ISBN 3-451-18057-X
  6. ↑ Ludger Stühlmeyer , Johann Valentin Rathgeber . In: Heinrichsblatt Bamberg, August 2011.
  7. ^ Barbara Stühlmeyer , Ludger Stühlmeyer: Johann Valentin Rathgeber. Life and Work , Verlag Sankt Michaelsbund, Munich 2016, pp. 53–64, 83f.
  8. ↑ Description of the works Valentin-Rathgeber-Gesellschaft (accessed on April 23, 2011)
personal data
SURNAME Rathgeber, Valentin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rathgeber, Johann Valentin (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer and organist of the Baroque
DATE OF BIRTH April 3, 1682
PLACE OF BIRTH Oberelsbach
DATE OF DEATH June 2, 1750
Place of death Banz Monastery