Era: Baroque

Baroque Italian

ALBINONI, Tomaso

Born in Venice, June 8, 1671
Died in Venice, Jan 17, 1750/51

[toh-MA-zoh all-bee-NO-nee / Italian pronunciation]

Albinoni was not a professional composer but an independently wealthy dilettante.
- Dilettante was a respected title in Albinoni’s Italy. It indicated composing for “delight” (without connoting “amateurish”).
Albinoni listed his career title (on compositions) both as “musico di violino” (freelance violinist) and as “dilettante.”¹
The defining characteristic of Albinoni’s music was its lyricism – his instrumental works were known for their cantabile lines, “shaped with a singer’s feel for articulation and phrasing.”
- Compared to Vivaldi, Albinoni’s violin writing is much more restrained, often choosing elegance and balance over flashy virtuosity.
Fun fact – Albinoni had a particular fondness for the oboe and is credited with being the first Italian composer to write oboe concertos.
Sad fact – much of Albinoni’s existing manuscripts were destroyed during WWI (they were being held at the Dresden State Library).²

Historical Context

In 1751, the (probable) year of Albinoni’s death, Diderot published his Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers.³

Learn More
Biography from Bach Cantatas
Short biography from Britannica

Pieces

Baroque Italian

ALLEGRI, Gregorio

Born in Rome, 1582
Died in Rome, Feb 7, 1652

Gregorio Allegri’s [PRONUNCIATION] music lies right on the cusp of late Renaissance and early Baroque styles. Most of his published works lean towards the more modern idioms of the day. Interestingly, Allegri’s most famous work, Miserere, is an exception and much more conservative in style.
Allegri worked first gained a position in the Papal Choir in 1629 as an alto and then worked his way up to maestro di cappella in 1650. While working in the choir, he was regarded as the successor of Palestrina and “guardian of the stile antico.”¹

Pieces

Miserere mei, Deus

Baroque English

ARNE, Thomas Augustine

Born in London, March 12, 1710
Died in London, March 5, 1778

Thomas Arne [“Arn;” PRONUNCIATION] composed English theater music: masques, plays with music, and operas.
Arne often collaborated in theater productions with his sister, tragic actress Susanna Arne Cibber (she was the original soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah).
Arne is perhaps best known for composing “God Save Our Noble King” (aka “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”).¹

Learn More
Short biography

Pieces

Baroque Classical English

AVISON, Charles

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, bap. Feb 16, 1709
Died in Newcastle upon Tyne, 9/May 10, 1770¹

Biography from Naxos

Pieces

Baroque English

BABELL, William

Born in London, c.1690
Died Islington, London, Sept 23, 1723

Babell was a violinist, harpsichordist, and organist based in London.
In his time, Babell was known for showy keyboard arrangements of operatic excerpts by Handel and others.¹

Short biography

Pieces

Recorder concerto, Op. 3 No. 1

Baroque Classical German

BACH, Carl Philipp Emanuel

Born in Weimar, March 8, 1714
Died in Hamburg, Dec 14, 1788

Fun fact: C.P.E. Bach was given the name Philipp after his godfather Georg Philipp Telemann.
Young C.P.E. Bach attended the Thomasschule where J.S. Bach taught in Leipzig. One of J.S.’s reasons for working in Leipzig was to obtain better educational opportunities for his children. It worked: C.P.E. Bach was able to attend the University of Leipzig and the University at Frankfurt an der Oder.
After university, C.P.E. Bach entered the employment of Frederick II of Prussia (Frederick the Great). Later in life he worked as a Kapellmeister in Hamburg.
C.P.E. Bach is considered a transitional figure between the Baroque and the Classical periods. In his time (the second half of the 18^th century), he was the most prominent German composer. ¹

Biography from Leipzig Bach Archive

A quick description of C.P.E. Bach’s empfindsamer Stil from NPR

There are a couple catalogues of C.P.E. Bach’s works.
- “W” or “Wq” stands for A. Wotquenne’s Thematisches Verzeichnis der Werke von Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788) (Leipzig, 1905)
- “H” stands for E.E. Helm’sThematic Catalogue of the Works of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (New Haven, CT, 1989).

Pieces

Baroque German

BACH, Johann Bernhard

Born in Erfurt, bap. Nov 25, 1676
Died in Eisenach, June 11, 1749

J.B. Bach was an organist and composer who worked in Erfurt, Magdeburg, and Eisenach. In Eisenach, he was court harpsichordist and was a member the court Kapelle directed by Georg Philipp Telemann.¹
All of J.B. Bach’s surviving works are instrumental.²
J.B. Bach was a second cousin of Johann Sebastian. They shared a great-grandfather, Hans Bach.

Bach family tree

Biography from Carus Verlag

Pieces

Overture-Suite No. 3 in e minor

Baroque Classical German

BACH, Johann Christian

Born in Leipzig, Sept 5, 1735
Died in London, Jan 1, 1782

Johann Christian (JC) Bach was the seventh and last son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Anna Magdalena Bach. While several of JS Bach’s sons went on to become composers, JC is viewed as the most varied and inventive (and the most traveled).
JS Bach supervised much of JC’s early musical education. After his father’s death, JC moved to Berlin to continue studies with his half-brother, Carl Philipp Emanuel (CPE) Bach.
- Around the age of 20, JC took a turn from family tradition and moved to Italy, where he not only converted to Catholicism but became the first in his family to delve into writing opera.
- In 1762, JC was invited to London to write an opera. He would be based in London for the rest of his life, eventually earning the nickname “The English Bach” or “The London Bach.” JC was also appointed Music Master to Queen Charlotte, and his duties included giving music lessons to the queen and her children, organizing chamber concerts, directing the queen’s band, and accompanying the flute-playing of the king.”
  - Fun fact – JC was often referred to as “John” Bach in London.
In London, JC became close friends with composer and viol de gamba player Carl Friedrich Abel. The two collaborated on a series of concerts known as the “Bach-Abel Concerts.” Wildly popular, these concerts became the basic template for the classical concert series most performing arts organizations use today.
As a composer, JC wrote symphonies, opera, church music, chamber music, and keyboard works.
- His Op. 5 sonatas were the first pieces published in London using the word “piano” on the title page. JC was also the first to perform publicly at the new keyboard instrument.
  - “After the arrival of John Chr. Bach in this country, and the establishment of his concert[s] … all the harpsichord makers tried their mechanical powers at piano-fortes.”
- JC was a significant musical influence for a young Mozart, who visited London in 1964. The two became well acquainted and even improvised on the harpsichord together.¹

Learn More
Biography from the Philharmonia Orchestra

Pieces

Baroque German

BACH, Johann Ludwig

Born in Thal, near Eisenach, Feb 4, 1677
Died in Meiningen, bur. May 1, 1731

Johann Ludwig Bach was one of the many members of J.S. Bach’s extended family. J.S. preserved and performed several of J.L.’s choral works.
Johann Ludwig Bach spent most of his career as a court composer and Kapellmeister at the court of Meinigen.¹

Biography from Carus Verlag

Pieces

Ouverture (Suite) in G Major, JLB 20

Baroque German

BACH, Johann Sebastian

Born in Eisenach, March 21, 1685
Died in Leipzig, July 28, 1750

Short biography from Brittanica

A Bach chronology from Bach-Leipzig.de

Quick guide to Bach’s life and style from the British Library

Pieces

Baroque German

BACH, Wilhelm Friedemann

Portrait of W.F. Bach (ca. 1725) by Gottlieb Friedrich Bach, from the Bachhaus Eisenach.

Born in Weimar, Nov 22, 1710
Died in Berlin, July 1, 1784

W.F. Bach was the eldest son of J.S. Bach and Maria Barbara Bach.¹

Biography from Naxos

Pieces

Baroque English

BASTON, John

Flourished 1708–39

Baston was an English composer, recorder player, and cellist.¹
He often performed with his brother, violinist Thomas Baston (fl. 1708-27), with orchestras and in theaters in London and Greenwich.²
One of Baston’s compositions appeared in a 1750 flute music collection edited by John Simpson, entitled Delightful Pocket Companion.³

Pieces

Recorder Concerto No. 2 in D Major

Baroque Austrian

BIBER, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von

Born in Wartenberg [now Stráž pod Ralskem], near Reichenberg [now Liberec], Bohemia, baptized Aug 12, 1644
Died in Salzburg, May 3, 1704

Biber was a violin virtuoso and court musician who worked as a composer and Kapellmeister for the Archbishop of Salzburg.¹
Emperor Leopold I granted Biber accession to nobility in 1690.² This was an uncommon achievement for Baroque court musicians, who were generally regarded as servants.³

Short biography

Pieces

Mensa Sonora (The Sonorous Table): Banquet Music Suites

Baroque English

BLOW, John

Born in Newark, Nottinghamshire, bap. Feb 23, 1649
Died in Westminster, London, Oct 1, 1708

John Blow was an English composer, organist, and teacher best remembered for his sacred and ceremonial music. He also wrote the first (surviving) English opera, Venus and Adonis.
- Blow’s pupil, Henry Purcell, would overshadow this early opera with his own theatrical work, Dido and Aeneas.
In addition to composing, Blow was known for his work as organist at Westminster Abbey, first from 1668-1679 and then again from 1695 until his death (he had bequeathed the position to Purcell in the interim and resumed it following Purcell’s death).¹
The following was inscribed on Blow’s burial monument in Westminster Abbey:

Here lieth the Body of John Blow, Doctor in Musick, who was Organist, Composer, and Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal for the Space of 35 Years, in the Reigns of K. Charles II, K. James II, K. William and Q. Mary, and her present Majesty Q. Anne: And also Organist of this Collegiate Church about 15 Years. He was Scholar to the excellent Musician Dr. Christopher Gibbons, and Master to the famous Mr. Henry Purcell, and most of the eminent Masters in Musick since. He died Oct. 1st, 1708, in the 60th Year of his Age. His own Musical Compositions (especially his Church Musick) are a far nobler Monument to his Memory, than any other can be raised for him.²

Short biography

Pieces

Baroque Classical Italian

BON DI VENEZIA, Anna

Image courtesy of Amaranti Ensemble

Born ~ 1739
Death date unknown

Anna Bon’s parents both worked in opera. Her mother was a singer, and her father was a librettist and set designer.
Anna began musical studies at the age of four at the Ospedale Della Pietà in Venice and was known as a musical prodigy.
In 1755, the teenage Bon moved with her parents to the court of Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia (older sister of Frederick the Great). While at the court, Bon was given the title “chamber music virtuoso” and dedicated her first set of compositions, Six Sonatas for flute and continuo, Op.1, to the Prussian monarch (who happened to play the flute).
Following her marriage to an Italian singer in 1767, we have no further information about Bon’s life and career.¹

Learn More:

Biographical blog article by Amaranti Ensemble

Pieces

Six Sonatas for Harpsichord (or Piano), Op. 2

Baroque Italian

BONPORTI, Francesco

Born in Trent, bap. June 11, 1672
Died in Padua, Dec 19, 1749

Bonporti was a priest connected to the cathedral of Trent, Germany, and he considered his religious position his primary career.
Bonporti was trained in composition, but rather than composing sacred music connected with his religious profession, he primarily wrote secular instrumental pieces dedicated to dignitaries whom he hoped might reward him with advancement in his ecclesiastical career. This effort was unsuccessful – he composed a great deal of graceful, melodically intricate music, but never became a high-ranking ecclesiastic.¹

Short biography from Encylcopaedia Brittanica

Pieces

Concerto in F, Op. 11, No. 5

Baroque Classical English

BOYCE, William

Born in London, bap. Sept 11, 1711
Died in London, Feb 7, 1779

Boyce was an organist and composer. He studied at St. Paul’s Cathedral choir school under Maurice Greene.¹
Boyce was appointed composer for the Chapel Royal in 1736. He composed organ music, theater music, choral works and music for royal occasions.²
Boyce’s claim to fame: he edited Cathedral Music (pub. 1760-73), a collection of Anglican church music from Tallis onward.³
- This became a classic anthology in use till the 20^th C.
- It was intended not just for practical performance, but as early effort of (what we now call) musicology.
- According his preface, Boyce wanted to record and preserve the music of early English composers for posterity, “in its original purity.”⁴

Short biography

Pieces

Baroque Danish German

BUXTEHUDE, Dieterich

(Probably) born in Helsingborg, ca. 1637
Died in Lübeck, May 9, 1707

No documents exist verifying Dieterich Buxtehude’s nationality or birth date, though musicologists speculate the composer was either Danish or German.¹
Buxtehude is most famous for his contributions to organ music. J.S. Bach and Handel were both known to have made pilgrimages to witness Buxtehude’s performances in Lübeck.
- Fun fact – both Bach and Handel wanted to succeed Buxtehude in his position at St. Mary’s Church in Lübeck. However, there was one condition – whoever took over the role had to marry Buxtehude’s daughter. Neither Bach nor Handel agreed to the terms.
Buxtehude became particularly well-known in Germany for directing Abendmusiken, concerts containing a mix of vocal and instrumental music held at St. Mary’s Church in Lübeck.
In addition to organ music, the composer wrote a considerable amount of instrumental music and sacred cantatas.²

Biography

Pieces

Baroque Italian

CASTELLO, Dario

Flourished in Venice, first half of 17^th century

Castello was a wind player who worked at St. Mark’s Cathedral (San Marco), Venice.¹
- St. Mark’s Basilica had a magnificent winds tradition; Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli worked there² and composed sacred works with winds and brass³
Castello’s tenure at St. Mark’s probably coincided with Monteverdi’s tenure as maestro di cappella there.⁴
- A Castello composition identifies Castello as a St. Mark’s musician in 1621; Monteverdi served at St. Mark’s from 1613 to 1643 (his death)⁵

Short biography

Pieces

Sonata No. 16

Baroque French

CHARPENTIER, Marc-Antoine

This 1682 engraving is thought to depict Marc-Antoine Charpentier.

Born in or near Paris, 1643
Died in Paris, Feb 24, 1704

Charpentier spent much of his career as a composer and singer at the private musical establishment of Parisian noblewoman Marie de Lorraine known as “Mademoiselle de Guise,” and later also served as a church musician, notably at Sainte-Chapelle, the chapel at the Palais de Justice.
Until recently Charpentier’s fame has been overshadowed by that of his contemporary Lully, who as a court musician to Louis XIV had one of the most influential and prestigious music jobs in Europe.
A great deal of Charpentier’s output is religious music, not only from his time working as a church musician, but also because his patroness Mademoiselle de Guise was very devout. ¹

Short biography

Pieces

Overture (for a consecration), for strings and continuo

Baroque English

CLARKE, Jeremiah

Born c1674
Died in London, Dec 1, 1707

Clarke was an English composer and organist of the generation before Purcell. Most of his music is written for the church or the theater.
In childhood, Clarke was a chorister at the Chapel Royal, during the early reign of James II.
Clarke was organist at Winchester College, then a choral director at St. Paul’s Cathedral and later co-organist of the Chapel Royal with William Croft.
Clarke died by suicide when he was about 33 years old: according to contemporary reports, he suffered an episode of mental illness after an unhappy romantic relationship.¹

Biography

Pieces

The Prince of Denmark’s March (Trumpet Voluntary)

Baroque Italian

CORELLI, Archangelo

Born in Fusignano, Feb 17, 1653
Died in Rome, Jan 8, 1713

Corelli was an Italian violinist and composer whose published works exerted great influence on the development of Baroque instrumental genres in Italy and throughout Europe; for example, the development of the concerto grosso.
Corelli is the first classical composer who gained his fame exclusively from his instrumental compositions, rather than from composing vocal music, or being a famous performer.²

Short biography

Pieces

Baroque French

CORRETTE, Michel

Portrait of Michel Corrette from "L'Ecole d'Orphée" (1738)

Born in Rouen, April 10, 1707
Died in Paris, Jan 21, 1795

Corrette was a French organist, teacher, and composer of church and theatre music.
The performance methods Corrette wrote for students are valuable for scholars of historic performance practice, because he gives clear instruction on techniques specific to his time.¹

Short biography

Pieces

Concerto Comique No. 19, “La turque (The Turk)” in A Major

Baroque French

COUPERIN, François

Born in Paris, Nov 10, 1668
Died in Paris, Sept 11, 1733

Also known as Couperin le grand to distinguish him from the many other musical members of the Couperin family, including one other François Couperin.¹

Biography from Britannica

Pieces

Baroque Italian

DALL’OGLIO, Domenico

Born in Padua, c. 1700
Died in Narva, Estonia, 1764

Dall’Oglio was a violin virtuoso from Padua.
Dall’Oglio and his brother, cellist Giuseppe Dall’Oglio (c.1710-c.1794), worked for the Russian royal court for 29 years.¹

Pieces

Violin Concerto in C Major

Baroque French

DELALANDE, Michel-Richard

Born in Paris, Dec 15, 1657
Died in Versailles, June 18, 1726

Michel-Richard Delalande is among the most well-known French Baroque composers from the generation after Jean-Baptiste-Lully. Delalande was a contemporary of François Couperin.
Like Lully before him, Delalande served in the court of Louis XIV (and later Louis XV) at Versailles.
- Fun fact – As a teenager, Delalande was briefly pursuing a career as a violinist and auditioned for Lully’s opera orchestra. He didn’t get the gig. Following this “failure,” Delalande turned his attention to organ and sacred music, for which he would eventually become famous.
In 1683, when the composer was in his mid-20s, Delalande won an organ competition at Versailles, awarding him the position at the Chapel Royal. Delalande gradually worked his way up in the court (even taking over Lully’s former position), resulting in a prosperous musical career.
As a composer, Delalande is best remembered for his expansive collection of grand motets, which were amply used for services at the royal chapel. Delalande also wrote opera, ballet music, and instrumental works.¹

Learn More

Short biography from The Kennedy Center
Short biography from Naxos

Pieces

Symphonies pour les Soupers du Roy

Baroque Italian

ELMI, Domenico

Born c.1676
Died in 1744

Domenico Elmi was a Venetian composer and a contemporary of Vivaldi. Little is known about his life.¹

Pieces

Oboe Concerto in a minor

Baroque German

FASCH, Johann Friedrich

Born in Buttelstädt, near Weimar, April 15, 1688
Died in Zerbst, Dec 5, 1758

Fasch was a contemporary of Bach who studied in Leipzig and spent most of his career at the court of Anhalt-Zerbst, writing sacred music for the court chapel and instrumental music to be performed in the palace for his aristocratic employers.
In the penultimate year of his life, Fasch wrote an autobiography of his early life (Lebenslauf).
- One of the interesting things we learn from this document is that as a student at the University of Leipzig, he could not afford composition lessons, so he taught himself by studying the works of Telemann (who also lived in Leipzig).
- Fasch called Telemann a “most beloved” friend.¹

Biography

Pieces

Concerto for Trumpet, 2 Oboes, and Strings in D Major

Baroque Moravian

FINGER, Gottfried

Born in (possibly) Olomouc, c1660
Died in Mannheim, bur. Aug 31, 1730¹

Biography from ArkivMusic

Pieces

Baroque Italian

FRANCESCHINI, Petronio

Born in Bologna, Jan 9, 1651
Died in Venice, Dec 4, 1680

Franceschini was a cellist and a composer of sacred music and opera. His brother was the painter Marcantonio Franceschini.¹
Franceschini was one of the first members of Accademia Filharmonica di Bologna,² an organization for the education of musicians and the promotion of new music, which still exists today. Other musicians who have received honorary memberships from this institution include Mozart (he was awarded the degree of Maestro compositore in 1770, when he was 14); Rossini, Verdi, Brahms, Claudio Abbado, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Karlheinz Stockhausen.³

Biography

Pieces

Sonata for Two Trumpets in D Major

Baroque French

FRANCOEUR, François

Born in Paris, Sept 21, 1698
Died in Paris, Aug 5, 1787

François Francoeur was part of a family of French string players who were employed by the Musique de la Chambre du Roy and the Paris Opera during the 18^th Century.
François Francoeur is known as le cadet (“the youngest”). He studied violin with his father Joseph Francoeur (“Francoeur père”) and started work as a violinist with Musique de la Chambre du Roy at the age of 12. In 1727 he gained the title of compositeur de la chambre du roi and in 1730 he joined his father and brother as a member of the 24 Violons du Roy.
François Francoeur frequently collaborated with his friend François Rebel, first in composing operas together, and later in co-directing the Paris Opéra. The two worked together so much that the Parisian public considered them as a single artistic unit.¹

Biography

Pieces

Suite of Simphonies No. 2

Baroque Italian

FRESCOBALDI, Girolamo

Born in Ferrara, bap. mid-Sept 1583
Died in Rome, March 1, 1643

Frescobaldi was a keyboard virtuoso who composed some of the most important Italian harpsichord and organ music of the early 17^th C.
Frescobaldi spent his career working as an organist in prestigious Italian churches and as a court musician for noble families, including the Medici.
Frescobaldi was also the first European composer to focus on composing instrumental music, rather than mainly vocal music.¹

Pieces

Toccata for cello and strings

Baroque Renaissance Italian

GABRIELI, Giovanni

Born in Venice (probably), c.1554–7
Died in Venice, Aug 1612

Gabrieli studied with Orlando de Lasso in Munich.
Gabrieli spent most of his career at the Basilica of St. Mark (S. Marco) in Venice, where his colleagues included his uncle Andrea Gabrieli. Many of Gabrieli’s compositions feature brass, due to the wind ensemble tradition at San Marco.¹

Biography

Pieces

Baroque Italian

GEMINIANI, Francesco

Born in Lucca, bap. Dec 5, 1687
Died in Dublin, Sept 17, 1762¹

Short biography from Naxos

Pieces

Baroque Catalan

GRABU, Louis

flourished 1665–94

Grabu was a Catalan composer. He spent his career in England, including serving as Master of the King’s Music. (See footnote for various alternate spellings of his name.)¹

Profile on ClassicFM

Pieces

Baroque German

GRAUPNER, Christoph

Born in Kirchberg, Saxony, Jan 13, 1683
Died in Darmstadt, May 10, 1760

A contemporary of J. S. Bach, Christoph Graupner was an incredibly prolific Baroque composer best known for his 1400+ church cantatas as well as his symphonies and operas.
From 1712 until his death in 1760, Graupner served as Kapellmeister to the Landgrave of Hessen-Darmstadt.¹

Short biography

Pieces

Symphony for 2 Horns, Timpani, 2 Violins, Viola, and basso continuo

Baroque English

GREENE, Maurice

Portrait of Maurice Greene (1747) by Francis Hayman

Born in London, Aug 12, 1696
Died in London, Dec 1, 1755

Greene trained at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, first as a choirboy under Jeremiah Clarke and later as an organist. Soon he succeeded as organist at St. Paul’s.
Greene’s organ students included prominent figures in the next generation of English organists, like William Boyce and John Stanley.
Greene was a founder-member of a secular music performance organization, The Academy of Ancient Music (the original one, not the one founded in the 1970s).
With his friend, composer and violinst Michael Festing, Greene helped found the Fund for the Support of Decay’d Musicians (which became the Royal Society of Musicians and is still supporting retired, injured or ill musicians).
Near the end of his life Greene was working on an anthology of historical and modern English music. He did not complete the project, but his pupil William Boyce did, producing the massively influential collection Cathedral Music.

Fun (?) Facts: The Beef Between Handel and Greene.

Greene was close friends with Handel for a time: apparently Handel loved playing the organ at St. Paul’s Cathedral, where Greene was organist.

“From Greene’s great admiration of Handel’s manner of playing, he had literally condescended to become his bellows-blower, when he [Handel] went to St. Paul’s to play on the organ…. Handel, after the three o’clock prayers, used frequently to get himself and young Greene locked up in the church together, and in summer often stript unto his shirt, and played till eight or nine o’clock at night.”
Charles Burney, music historian and acquaintance of Handel.

Unfortunately they had a falling out when Greene became friendly with Handel’s rival, the composer Bononcini. It is also possible that Handel envied Greene’s position in the Chapel Royal.

“Dr. Greene has gone to the devil!”
Handel, on the occasion of Greene founding a concert series with Bononcini

“For many years of his life, Handel never spoke of [Greene] without some injurious epithet.”
Charles Burney ¹

Biography

Pieces

6 Overtures in 7 Parts

Baroque German

HANDEL, George Frideric

Portrait of Handel, attr. Balthasar Denner

Born Georg Friedrich Händel

Born in Halle, Feb 23, 1685
Died in London, April 14, 1759

Biographical timeline

Handel Anecdotes

Pieces

Baroque German

HASSE, Johann Adolf

Born in Bergedorf, near Hamburg, bap. March 25, 1699
Died in Venice, Dec 16, 1783¹

Biography from Naxos

Pieces

Baroque German

HEINICHEN, Johann David

Born in Krössuln, near Weissenfels, April 17, 1683
Died in Dresden, July 16, 1729

Heinichen was a composer and music theorist. He studied with Johann Kuhnau at the Leipzig Thomasschule. Though Heinichen studied law at university of Leipzig, he quickly gained success as a composer of opera instead, working in Leipzig and Italy. Eventually he became Kapellmeister to the Prince-Elector of Saxony in Dresden.¹
Heinichen’s music theory treatise, Der General-Bass in der Composition (“Figured Bass in Composition”) (Dresden, 1728), is one of the most important Baroque theory documents. It contains valuable information for historic performance practice, as well as insight into the philosophy and theory of German baroque composition.²
Fun facts: As a child, Heinichen studied at the Thomasschule in Leipzig, enrolling in 1695. Bach would later teach there, starting in 1723.³ Heinichen also taught the young Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen during a visit to Italy in 1712;⁴ the Prince would hire Bach as his court composer in 1717.⁵

Short Biography

Pieces

Concerto in F Major S. 231