Andreas Armsdorff (also Armsdorf; 9 September 1670 – 31 December 1699) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

. He was born in Mühlberg, near Gotha, and studied music and law. At some point in his early life he moved to nearby

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

where he may have studied with

Johann Pachelbel Johann Pachelbel (baptised – buried 9 March 1706; also Bachelbel) was a German composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secularity, secular music, and h ...

.Welter 1998, 60. He worked as organist in various churches in Erfurt:

Reglerkirche The Reglerkirche (, also called ''Augustinuskirche'', "Augustine's Church") is a church building in the historical centre of Erfurt in Thuringia, Germany. It serves a Lutheran parish as a place of worship and is one of the larger churches in the ...

, Andreaskirche, and

Kaufmannskirche The Kaufmannskirche (, "Merchant's Church") is a church building in the historical centre of the city of Erfurt in Thuringia, Germany. It is located at the north end of Erfurt's square and has been Lutheran since 1521. History The early his ...

. He died in Erfurt at the age of 29.Sharp, Grove. Armsdorff's early death was not an obstacle to the posthumous popularity of his music. His organ chorale preludes survive in numerous manuscript copies that circulated in Germany for decades after Armsdorff's death. Writing in 1758,

Jakob Adlung Jakob Adlung, or Adelung, (14 January 1699 – 5 July 1762) was a German organist, teacher, instrument maker, music historian, composer and music theorist. Biography He was born in Bindersleben, near Erfurt, to David Adlung, an organist and his f ...

praised Armsdorff's music as "agreeable to the ear."Apel 1972, 679. He was particularly known for his fugal writing, and traces of advanced imitative technique are present in the surviving works, particularly the two chorale preludes that employ the rare form of chorale canon: ''Allein Gott in der Höh'' and ''Es spricht der Unweisen Mund''. Armsdorff mostly employed typical Central German chorale styles, however, in a few pieces he used the ornamented descant type, more widespread in the North (''Allein zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ''). Today, some 30 chorale preludes for organ are the only surviving pieces by Armsdorff, although there is evidence of lost vocal works, as well as numerous keyboard pieces.

Notes

References

* Apel, Willi. 1972. ''The History of Keyboard Music to 1700''. Translated by Hans Tischler. Indiana University Press. . Originally published as ''Geschichte der Orgel- und Klaviermusik bis 1700'' by Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel. * *Welter, Kathryn J. 1998. ''Johann Pachelbel: Organist, Teacher, Composer: A Critical Reexamination of His Life, Works, and Historical Significance''. Diss., Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Armsdorff, Andreas German classical composers German Baroque composers Composers for pipe organ German classical organists German male organists 1670 births 1699 deaths 17th-century classical composers German male classical composers 17th-century male musicians Male classical organists