Ferdinand Zellbell the Younger (171921 April 1780) was a Swedish
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 a founding member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Music
The Royal Swedish Academy of Music ( sv, Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. At the time of its foundation, only one of its co-founder was a professional musician, Ferdin ...
. He was
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 ...
at
Storkyrkan
Storkyrkan (, ), also called Stockholms domkyrka (Stockholm Cathedral) and Sankt Nikolai kyrka (Church of Saint Nicholas), is the oldest church in Stockholm. Storkyrkan lies in the centre of Stockholm in Gamla stan, between Stockholm Palace and ...
, the main church of
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, and chief conductor at
Kungliga Hovkapellet
Kungliga Hovkapellet (, "The Royal Court Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra, originally part of the Royal Court in Sweden's capital Stockholm. Its existence was first recorded in 1526. Since 1773 it is part of the Royal Swedish Opera's company.
K ...
(the Royal Court Orchestra). Arguably his most accomplished composition is an opera, ''Il Giudizio Di'Aminta'', written on the occasion of the birthday of future Empress
Catherine the Great
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
.
Biography
Ferdinand Zellbell the Younger was born in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. He was the son of , who was also a musician and a composer. He was taught music by his father but also studied for
Johan Helmich Roman
Johan Helmich Roman (26 October 1694 – 20 November 1758) was a Swedish Baroque composer. He has been called "the father of Swedish music" or "the Swedish George Frideric Handel, Handel." He was the leader of Swedish Opera through most of Swedish ...
. He spent the years between 1739 and 1741 with further studies in
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
; his teachers there included
Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesh ...
. He started working as a substitute for his father as an
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 ...
in
Storkyrkan
Storkyrkan (, ), also called Stockholms domkyrka (Stockholm Cathedral) and Sankt Nikolai kyrka (Church of Saint Nicholas), is the oldest church in Stockholm. Storkyrkan lies in the centre of Stockholm in Gamla stan, between Stockholm Palace and ...
, the main church of Stockholm, and from 1753 was permanently employed there. His father also helped him secure a position as a musician at the royal court, and he eventually rose to the position of chief conductor at
Kungliga Hovkapellet
Kungliga Hovkapellet (, "The Royal Court Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra, originally part of the Royal Court in Sweden's capital Stockholm. Its existence was first recorded in 1526. Since 1773 it is part of the Royal Swedish Opera's company.
K ...
and concertmaster, but this work was largely without a salary. Only from 1758 did he receive payment for his services to the court.
The same year he became a member of the
Freemasons
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
and in 1763 he joined (The Worshipful Company of Carpenters).
In 1758–59, he traveled to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. There he received the commission to write the music for the opera ''Il Giudizio Di'Aminta'' (with text by Lodovico Lazaroni), performed as part of the celebrations of the birthday of the future Empress Catherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
.[ Invigorated by this success, Zellbell pursued his musical career with more energy on his return to Stockholm.][ During the 1760s and 1770s he organised many concerts, especially in the House of Nobility, which at the time was a popular concert venue.][ ''Il Giudizio Di'Aminta'' was performed there again in 1759 and 1760, and in 1767 he organised a concert in memory of his former teacher Roman.][ In 1771 he was also one of the co-founders of the ]Royal Swedish Academy of Music
The Royal Swedish Academy of Music ( sv, Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. At the time of its foundation, only one of its co-founder was a professional musician, Ferdin ...
, and the only of the co-founders who was a professional musician.[ He was active as a teacher at the academy following its foundation. In 1778 he organised a concert in Stockholm for the last time. He died impoverished in his native city in 1780, "but left a violin, some keyboard instruments, a collection of scores and an important book collection."][ He also left a legacy through his work as a teacher. Perhaps his most successful student was Olof Åhlström.][
]
Works
The opera ''Il Giudizio Di'Aminta'' has been described as Zellbell's most accomplished work.[ He wrote an opera-]ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
, ''Sveas Högtid eller De fria konsternas vördnadsoffer åt dygderna'' (with libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
by Gustaf Fredrik Gyllenborg
Count Gustaf Fredrik Gyllenborg (25 November 1731 – 30 March 1808) was a Swedish writer. Gustaf Fredrik Gyllenborg was born in Suinstad, Östergötland and died in Stockholm. He was one of the leading lights of Tankebyggarorden (Order of th ...
), but only the overture
Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overt ...
has been preserved. He wrote several cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir.
The meaning of ...
s, some music for orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
as well as a few pieces for organ and keyboard. His style is very similar to that of his father, and it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between the two. They share a style "marked by the transition from baroque to gallant style, with baroque features in the church music, in pompous introductory movements to cantatas and fugue parts in the symphonies."[ Some of the works attributed to him have turned out to be by other composers, e.g. Roman and ]Andrea Bernasconi
Andrea Bernasconi (c. 1706 – 24 January 1784) was an Italian composer.
He began his career in his native country as a composer of operas. In 1755 he was appointed to the post of '' Kapellmeister'' at the Bavarian court in Munich where he ...
.[
]
References
External links
Biography and collected works
at Swedish Musical Heritage
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zellbell, Ferdinand the Younger
1719 births
1780 deaths
Swedish classical composers
Swedish classical organists
Swedish conductors (music)
Swedish Freemasons
Musicians from Stockholm
Swedish male classical composers
Male classical organists
Male conductors (music)
18th-century classical composers
18th-century keyboardists
18th-century conductors (music)
18th-century male musicians