Friedrich Jeremias Witt (November 8, 1770 – January 3, 1836) was a German

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

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

. He is perhaps best known as the likely author of a Symphony in C major known as the Jena Symphony, once attributed to

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

Biography

Witt was born in 1770, the same year as

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

, and was a German composer of considerable stature in his time. He was born in the

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

village of

Niederstetten Niederstetten () is a town and a municipality in the Main-Tauber district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 14 km southeast of Bad Mergentheim, and 19 km west of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Sights The main attraction is ...

, the son of a cantor and court clerk. Witt became a cellist (some accounts say a

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist) in the court orchestra of

Oettingen-Wallerstein The House of Oettingen was a high-rank noble Franconian and Swabian family. It ruled various estates that composed the County of Oettingen between the 12th century and the beginning of the 19th century. In 1674 the house was raised to the rank of p ...

when he was nineteen, taking composition lessons there with

Antonio Rosetti Francesco Antonio Rosetti (c. 1750 – 30 June 1792) was a classical era composer and double bass player, and was a contemporary of Haydn and Mozart. There is considerable confusion regarding his name. The occasional mention of a supposed, ...

, that is, the Bohemian-born Anton Rösler. Witt was most famous in his lifetime for his

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 ...

''Der leidende Heiland'' (''The Suffering Saviour''), securing an appointment as

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

for the Prince of

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

, and later for the theater, where he stayed until his death. He also wrote two

operas Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

: ''Palma'' (1804) and ''Das Fischerweib'' (1806). His other compositions include

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

church music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The onl ...

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

and

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

. His best-known work, a symphony in C major known as the ''Jena'', is modeled after the Symphony No. 97 by

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

. Stephen Fisher compiled a thematic index of Witt's symphonies. Published the same year as Garland Publishing's edition (by Fisher) of Witt's symphony in D (Thematic Index FisW 2.) The

RISM RISM may refer to: * Répertoire International des Sources Musicales * Directive 2008/96/EC on road infrastructure safety management {{disambig ...

catalog online lists 15 (and one fragmentary - unfinished?) of Witt's symphonies with manuscript copy (or other source) locations and Fisher thematic catalogue numbers, but assuming none of the works before no. 23- the last, fragmentary one, they list- are also unfinished, that still leaves 18 Witt symphonies (since their database includes a listing of his symphony catalog no. 18.)

Facts

In the Finale of his Symphony No. 16 in A major, Witt cites the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

ary "

Ça ira "" (; French: "it'll be fine") is an emblematic song of the French Revolution, first heard in May 1790. It underwent several changes in wording, all of which used the title words as part of the refrain. Original version The author of the orig ...

" motif.

Notes

Sources

Opera at Stanford University

Discography

* Symphonies Nos. 6 and 9, Flute Concerto. Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Johannes Moesus. MDG 329 1299-2 * Septet in F major. Berlin Philharmonic Octet. Berlin Classics. Disc includes Beethoven's Opus 20 Septet. * Horn Concertos. Concerto Amsterdam. Arts Music. Disc includes horn concertos by Leopold Mozart, Pokorny and Rosetti. * Quintet for Piano and Winds. James Campbell, James Mason, James Sommerville, James McKay, Anton Kuerti. Cbc Musica Viva. Disc includes piano and wind quintets by Mozart (K. 452), and Beethoven (Op. 16). * Symphonies in C major and A major, Flute Concerto in G major, Op. 8. Sinfonia Finlandia Jyväskylä, Patrick Gallois Flute and conductor. Naxos 8.572089 * Chamber Works for Winds & Strings. Consortium Classicum. Disc includes quintet by Prince von Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg Carl Friedrich

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Witt, Friedrich 1770 births 1836 deaths German classical cellists German male classical composers German opera composers Male opera composers People from Main-Tauber-Kreis