Eduard Grell or August Eduard Grell (6 November 1800 – 10 August 1886) was a German composer, organist, and music teacher. Grell was born in Berlin. Among his early teachers were

Carl Friedrich Zelter Carl Friedrich Zelter (11 December 1758 15 May 1832)Grove/Fuller-Datei:Carl-Friedrich-Zelter.jpegMaitland, 1910. The Zelter entry takes up parts of pages 593-595 of Volume V. was a German composer, conductor and teacher of music. Working in his ...

and

Carl Friedrich Rungenhagen Carl Friedrich Rungenhagen (first name also sometimes given as Karl;Eitner (1889) 27 September 1778 – 21 December 1851) was a German composer and music teacher. Life Rungenhagen abandoned early study of art under Daniel Chodowiecki and jo ...

. On Zelter's recommendation, Grell became in 1817 the organist at the Nikolaikirche in Berlin; he also joined the

Sing-Akademie zu Berlin The Sing-Akademie zu Berlin, also known as the Berliner Singakademie, is a musical (originally choral) society founded in Berlin in 1791 by Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch, harpsichordist to the court of Prussia, on the model of the 18th-century ...

of which he was a lifelong member, and director from 1853 to 1876, succeeding Rungenhagen. He also became in 1853 professor of composition at the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and late ...

. In 1864 he was awarded the order "

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...

". Grell's oeuvre includes three symphonies, three

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

s, and large amounts of vocal music. He is considered one of the leaders of the

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pren ...

renaissance in Europe. He was also the first to produce the

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of t ...

since the death of its composer,

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 w ...

Selected works

* ''Die Israeliten in der Wüste'',

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

* ''16stimmige Messe'',

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

* ''Pfingstlied für 3 Solo- und 4 Chorstimmen mit Begleitung des Pianoforte'', Op. 11 * Drei kurze und leichte ''vierstimmige Motetten'', men's chorus with organ or piano, Op. 13 * ''Zwei achtstimmige Motetten'', Op. 22 * ''Drei Motetten für gemischten Chor'', Op. 34 * ''Te deum laudamus'', Op. 38 * ''Urfinsternis''

References

;Notes ;Sources * Reinhold Brinkmann and Bernd Wiechert (n.d.)
Grell, (August) Eduard
in

Oxford Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grell, Eduard 1800 births 1886 deaths Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) German music educators German organists German male organists German choral conductors German male conductors (music) Musicians from Berlin 19th-century German composers 19th-century conductors (music) 19th-century organists