Christian Flor (162628 September 1697) was a German composer and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

. Working at churches in Rendsburg and Lüneburg, he was widely known for vocal and organ compositions. He composed one of the earliest Passion oratorios, in 1667.

Life

Born in Neukirchen, Ostholstein, Flor came from a family of pastors spread throughout

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

and was born as the son of the pastor Otto Flor and his wife Catharina. He probably received his musical education in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

, studying with

Heinrich Scheidemann Heinrich Scheidemann (ca. 1595 – 1663) was a German organist and composer. He was the best-known composer for the organ in north Germany in the early to mid-17th century, and was an important forerunner of Dieterich Buxtehude and J.S. Ba ...

and

Franz Tunder Franz Tunder (1614 – November 5, 1667) was a German composer and organist of the early to middle Baroque era. He was an important link between the early German Baroque style which was based on Venetian models, and the later Baroque style ...

. From 1652 he was organist at in

Rendsburg Rendsburg ( da, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'', nds, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Ecke ...

. In 1653 he married Margarethe Hudemann, the widow of his predecessor. Their daughter Catharina was baptised in Rendsburg on 24 October 1653. At the latest in 1654, he became organist at in

Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also called ...

. After the death of his first wife he married Anna Dorothea Lange (1641–1685). From 1676 until his death, he was (as a predecessor of

Georg Böhm Georg Böhm (2 September 1661 – 18 May 1733) was a German Baroque organist and composer. He is notable for his development of the chorale partita and for his influence on the young J. S. Bach. Life Böhm was born in 1661 in Hohenkirchen. H ...

) also organist at St. Johannis, the major church in Lüneburg. Flor was widely known as an organist and organ expert. He contributed significantly to Lüneburg becoming one of the most important North German music centres of the time. Like their father, his son Johann Georg (1679–1728) worked as organist at St. Lamberti in Lüneburg, and his son Gottfried Philipp (1682–1723) from 1707 was organist at

St. Michaelis, Lüneburg St. Michaelis is one of the main churches in Lüneburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. It was first an abbey church of the former monastery of Benedictines, built from 1376 in brick Gothic style. It became Lutheranism, Lutheran during the Reformation. Joh ...

. Flor composed a ''St. Matthew Passion'' in 1667, which is one of the first passion oratorios in music history. He included

chorale Chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one of the th ...

s in the Passion. In addition to his few surviving organ works and independent harpsichord compositions, Flor also created several collections of occasional music and liturgical vocal works. Flor died in Neukirchen near Eutin.

Legacy

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

probably became acquainted with compositions by Flor during his stay as a student in Lüneburg and may have been influenced by them. According to other sources, Bach is said to have known Flor personally and to have appreciated his compositions. His reputation is also supported by the fact that both

Johann Gottfried Walther Johann Gottfried Walther (18 September 1684 – 23 March 1748) was a German music theorist, organist, composer, and lexicographer of the Baroque era. Walther was born at Erfurt. Not only was his life almost exactly contemporaneous to that ...

(1732) and

Johann Mattheson Johann Mattheson (28 September 1681 – 17 April 1764) was a German composer, singer, writer, lexicographer, diplomat and music theorist. Early life and career The son of a prosperous tax collector, Mattheson received a broad liberal education ...

wrote about him in their music encyclopaedias. The latter described him in his 1740 ''Grundlage einer Ehrenpforte'' as "berühmten Lüneburgischen Organisten" (famous Lüneburg organist).

Work

Flor's works include: * Passion oratorio, 1667 * ''Es ist gnug, Herr'', kleines geistliches Konzert, Verlag C. Hofius Ammerbuch, 2007 * ''Machet die Tore weit'', cantata (

SATB SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass. Choral music Four-part harm ...

, strings and b.c.), Edition Baroque Bremen * ''Pastores currite in Bethlehem'', cantata, Edition Baroque Bremen * ''Es segne dich der Gott Israels'', cantata, Edition Baroque Bremen * Harpsichord works (could only be assigned to Flor in 1997), including ** ''Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern''
Online-Version; PDF; 76 KB
** ''Zehn Suiten für Clavier'', edited by Jörg Jacobi, Edition Baroque Bremen 2006, ISMN-M-700266-05-9. ** ''Dreizehn & Ein Choral'', Edition Baroque Bremen. * with

Johann Rist Johann Rist (8 March 1607 – 31 August 1667) was a German poet and dramatist best known for his hymns, which inspired musical settings and have remained in hymnals. Life Rist was born at Ottensen in Holstein-Pinneberg (today Hamburg) on 8 Marc ...

: ''Neues Musikalisches Seelenparadis'' (Old Testament), 1660Neues Musikalisches Seelenparadis
reader.digitale-sammlungen.de * with Rist: ''Neues Musikalisches Seelenparadis'' (New Testament), 1662 * ''Das gläubige Senffkorn – 23 Lieder für Singstimme und Basso continuo nach Gedichten von Georg Heinrich Werbern'', 1665 (Vocal works, vol. VIII), Edition Baroque Bremen. * Organ works: 2 Prealudia und eine Fuge in d, Choralprelude: Ein feste Burg "für 2 Claviere" , Auf Meinen Lieben Gott (With double inverted counterpoint) The title page of the collection of settings of Biblical verses from the Old Testament bears the title:

Recordings

Nicolaus Bruhns Nicolaus Bruhns (also ''Nikolaus'', ''Nicholas''; late 1665 – in Husum) was a Danish-German organist, violinist, and composer. He was one of the most prominent organists and composers of his generation. Biography Bruhns was born in Schwabst ...

: ''Complete Organ Works'', including Christian Flor: Chorale preludes, Sven-Ingvart Mikkelsen at the Havgaard Rasmussen Organs in Eckernförde and Husum (Kontrapunkt 32198) * G. A. Pandolfi Mealli: Violin Sonatas (1660) and Harpsichord Suites by Christian Flor, with Andrew Manze (violin) (CCS 5894) * ''Dansk Orgelmusik i 400 år'', including chorale prelude on "

Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" (originally written in the German language with the title ) is one of the best known hymns by the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther, a prolific hymnwriter. Luther wrote the words and composed the hymn tune between ...

" and Suite in D, Mikkelsen, 3-CD-CLASSCD528-30 * ''Organ Landscape: Holstein-Lübeck'', including Flor's "Ein feste Burg", Wolfgang Baumgratz (organ), MDG – 319 0962(CD) * ''Musicalische Frühlings-Früchte'' by anonymus, Dietrich Becker, Christian Flor (harpsichord suites, ''Hochzeitlicher Freuden-Klang'') – Musica Poetica, Jörn Boysen ( Challenge Classics)"Christian Flor & Dietrich Becker: 'Musicalische Frühlings-Früchte'"
musica-dei-donum.org (2008)

References

External links

* * * *
Christian Flor (Composer)
Bach Cantatas Website
Christian Flor + Gregor Zuber + Johann Theile Seelen-Music / Sacred Concertos
musik-sammler.de
Christian Flor, Dietrich Becker: Northern German Dance Suites From The 17th Century
arkivmusic.com
Stellwagen-Orgel zu St. Marien, Stralsund / Die Norddeutsche Orgelkunst – Vol. 4 / Lüneburg
ohscatalog.org
Friedhelm_Flamme
_/_Discography.html" ;"title="Friedhelm Flamme">Friedhelm Flamme
/ Discography">Friedhelm Flamme">Friedhelm Flamme
/ Discography(in German) friedhelmflamme.org
Ein feste Burg : Orgelbearbeitungen aus 6 Jahrhunderten
searchworks.stanford.edu {{DEFAULTSORT:Flor, Christian Organists and composers in the North German tradition 17th-century German composers German classical organists 1626 births 1697 deaths People from Ostholstein