Wolfgang Caspar Printz

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Wolfgang Caspar Printz (born October 10, 1641 in Waldthurn , Upper Palatinate , † October 13, 1717 in Sorau ) was a composer , music writer and novelist.

Life

Printz was the son of a forester in Upper Palatinate . He had hardly any previous education before he enrolled in Altdorf near Nuremberg in 1659 . A musical talent can be assumed, but undocumented. However, he soon broke off the undefined Altdorf studies again in order to hire himself out as court master . This occupation suited his wanderlust, because it gave him the opportunity to get to know the musical life of Italy. At the age of 21, he finally came to the then cultural metropolis of Dresden in 1662 , where he was offered the position of Kapellmeister at the court of the art-loving Silesian magnate Count Erdmann I of Promnitz . He always traveled in the wake of his new employer, even to Bohemian and Hungarian war camps.

After the death of his employer in 1664, he accepted a position as cantor at the Sorau Church, founded a family and spent the next 52 years busy as a composer and as an author of music-historical writings, which earned him the respect of the musical world throughout Germany . Similar to Johann Kuhnau , he also published some popular musician novels. Under Erdmann II von Promnitz he took over the direction of the court orchestra again until the young Georg Philipp Telemann was appointed as his successor in 1704. Printz mentions this in his autobiography, published in 1740. His extensive musical oeuvre has largely been lost, but his historical description still provides useful information about contemporary composers today.

reception

The Exercitationes ... Musical science and art exercises were presented by Lorenz Christoph Mizler in his musical library .

Works (selection)

Historical description of the noble singing and singing art (1690)
  • Compendium musicae: In quo breviter ac succinctè explicantur et traduntur ... Gruber, Guben 1668 ( digitized in the Google book search).
  • Phrynis ... or satirical composer who ... politely portrays the mistakes of the ignorant ... composers. Quedlinburg 1676 u.ö. ( Volume 1 in Google Book Search; Volume 2 in Google Book Search).
  • Exercitationes ... Musical science and art exercises. 8 parts. Dresden 1687–89 ( 2nd part in the Google book search).
  • Historical description of the noble singing and singing art. Mieth, Dresden 1690. ( digitized in the Google book search). Reprint ed. by Othmar Wessely. Graz 1964.
  • Musicus vexatus, or the troubled ... funny musicus. Dresden 1690. ( Digitized in the Google book search)
  • Musicus curiosus, or Battalus, the cheeky Musicant: A very funny ... story presented by Mimnermo. Freiburg 1691 ( digitized in the Google book search).
  • Selected Works. (Ed.): Helmut Krausse. Volume 1 ff., Berlin 1974 ff.

literature

  • Andreas Anglet: »I am not a play man«: The defense of the civil status and the artistic self-confidence of the main characters in the musician novels by Wolfgang Caspar Printz. In: Daphnis. 30, 2001, pp. 333-354.
  • Thomas Buchner: The "Satyrical Composer" by Wolfgang Caspar Printz (1641–1717) in the structure of the music economic and music theoretical change towards the end of the 17th century. Duschl, Winzer 2008, ISBN 978-3-937438-45-0 (also Diss. Passau 2006).
  • Wilhelm Bäumker :  Wolfgang Caspar Printz . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 26, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1888, pp. 593-596.
  • Gerhard Dünnhaupt : Wolfgang Caspar Printz (1641–1717). In: Personal bibliographies on Baroque prints. Volume 5, Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-7772-9133-1 , pp. 3231-38.
  • Harald Heckmann: Wolfgang Caspar Printz and his theory of rhythm. Dissertation Freiburg / B. 1952.
  • Hans Friedrich Menck: The musician in the novel . Heidelberg 1931.
  • Susanne Stöpfgeshoff: The musician novels by Wolfgang Caspar Printz and Johann Kuhnau. Dissertation Freiburg / B. 1960.
  • Stephen Rose: The musician-novels of the German Baroque: new light on Bach's world. In: Understanding Bach. 3, 2008, pp. 55-66. (PDF)
  • Birgit Plank: Johann Sieder's translation of the “Golden Donkey” and the early German-language “Metamorphoses” reception. Chapter VI .: The reception of the metamorphoses in Grimmelshausen and Printz. New edition. Walter de Gruyter, 2004, ISBN 3-11-094538-X .

Web links
personal data
SURNAME Printz, Wolfgang Caspar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer, music writer and novelist
DATE OF BIRTH October 10, 1641
PLACE OF BIRTH Waldthurn
DATE OF DEATH October 13, 1717
Place of death Sorau