Leopold von Kalckreuth - Porträt Friedrich Chrysander (1901)

Karl Franz Friedrich Chrysander (8 July 1826 – 3 September 1901) was a German

music historian Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history o ...

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, whose edition of the works of

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

and authoritative writings on many other composers established him as a pioneer of 19th-century

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

Biography

Born at Lübtheen, in

Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting Hous ...

, Chrysander was the son of a

miller A miller is a person who operates a Gristmill, mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Mill (grinding), Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surname ...

. He earned a Doctorate in Philosophy from the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...

in 1853. He then focused his studies on music, and in an obituary for Chrysander in October 1901, the ''

Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer ...

'' said of him that :"From the beginning he assumed the role of an historian in rigorously defending the right and claims of musical masterpieces of a distant past to a legitimate and faithful reproduction, i.e., without modernising, and without instrumental or vocal additions." Chrysander is also credited with rediscovering the autograph score of

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 ...

's ''

Mass in B Minor The Mass in B minor (), BWV 232, is an extended setting of the Mass ordinary by Johann Sebastian Bach. The composition was completed in 1749, the year before the composer's death, and was to a large extent based on earlier work, such as a Sanctu ...

,'' which he then sold to the Royal Library in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, generously doing so only for the same sum that he himself paid for it. He also edited the music of many other composers, including (in collaboration with

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

) the collected harpsichord music of François Couperin le Grand, published from 1871 to 1888. Chrysander took a leading role in the editing and publication of ''Denkmäler der Tonkunst'' (1869-1871).

Publications

Between 1858 and 1902, the ''

Händel-Gesellschaft Between 1858 and 1902, the Händel-Gesellschaft ("German Handel Society") produced a collected 105-volume edition of the List of compositions by George Frideric Handel, works of George Frideric Handel. Even though the collection was initiated by ...

'' or "German Handel Society" edition of Handel's collected works was published, and this was almost entirely the work of Chrysander; however,

Julius Rietz August Wilhelm Julius Rietz (28 December 1812 – 12 September 1877) was a German composer, conductor, cellist, and teacher. His students included Woldemar Bargiel, Salomon Jadassohn, Arthur O'Leary, and (by far the most celebrated) Sir Arthur ...

prepared the first volume (with results that were much to Chrysander's dissatisfaction), and Max Seiffert also assisted with some of the later editing. Early in the publication of the edition, the publisher dropped out of the project, after which Chrysander set up an engraving shop at his home and produced subsequent volumes himself. Additionally, he sold fruit and vegetables raised in his garden as a way of bringing in further income during the publication years."Editions of Handel's Music," ''op. cit..'' The quality of some of the editing has been challenged in subsequent decades, with one writer calling the ''Händel-Gesellschaft'' edition "anything but complete and reliable" and another criticizing Chrysander's "arbitrary selection of material in the more complex works and his failure to explain his methods."Dean, ''New Grove Handel,'' p. 117. Nevertheless, this publication, which produced over 100 volumes of music, is acknowledged to have been a remarkable achievement for its day.

References

External links

* *
Chrysander's biography of Händel, unabridged text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chrysander, Friedrich 1826 births 1901 deaths People from the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin German music publishers (people) People from Bergedorf Handel scholars 19th-century German musicologists

Biography

Publications

See also

References

Further reading

External links