Esaias Reusner (the Younger) (29 April 1636 – 1 May 1679) was a German
lutenist and composer.
Reusner was born in Löwenberg in
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
, now
Lwówek Śląski
Lwówek Śląski (; german: Löwenberg in Schlesien; szl, Ślůnski Lwůwek) is a town in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in Poland. Situated on the Bóbr River, Lwówek Śląski is about NNW of Jelenia Góra and has a population of about 9,000 ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. His first lute teacher was his father Esaias (lutenist to the Prince of Bernstadt,
Henry Wenceslaus). He was a child prodigy and together with his father he traveled and performed at various courts. He wrote two collections of lute suites - ''Deliciae testudinis'' and ''Neue Lauten-früchte''. In the years from 1655 to 1672, he was in the service of the duke of Silesia. Thereafter, he worked for a short time as a flute and lute teacher at the
University of Leipzig
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
. Finally in 1674, he was appointed chamber lutenist at the court of
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg
Frederick William (german: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is ...
in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, where he remained until his death, aged 43.
He is considered to be one of the best lute virtuosos of his time and one of the first great masters of the 11-course baroque lute in Germany.
Works
* ''Hundert geistliche Melodien evangelischer Lieder'' (One hundred spiritual melodies from evangelical songs) (for lute, 1676 or 1678)
* various lute and orchestral suites
External links
Biography, sheet music*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reusner, Esaias
1636 births
1679 deaths
People from Lwówek Śląski
German Baroque composers
German lutenists
17th-century classical composers
German male classical composers
17th-century male musicians