Georg Böhm
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Georg Böhm (2 September 1661 – 18 May 1733) was a German Baroque
organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...
and composer. He is notable for his development of the
chorale partita A chorale partita is a large-scale multimovement piece of music based on a chorale and written for a keyboard instrument. It represents a fusion of two forms of keyboard music: the north German chorale prelude and the Italian variation canzona. ...
and for his influence on the young J. S. Bach.


Life

Böhm was born in 1661 in Hohenkirchen. He received his first music lessons from his father, a schoolmaster and organist who died in 1675. He may also have received lessons from Johann Heinrich Hildebrand, Kantor at Ohrdruf, who was a pupil of
Heinrich Bach Heinrich Bach ( – ) was a German organist, composer and a member of the Bach family. Heinrich Bach was born at Wechmar, and is the father of the so-called Arnstadt Line. After the early death of his father, his older brother Johannes Bach cont ...
and Johann Christian Bach. After his father's death, Böhm studied at the Lateinschule at Goldbach, and later at the Gymnasium at Gotha, graduating in 1684. Both cities had Kantors taught by the same members of the Bach family who may have influenced Böhm. On 28 August 1684 Böhm entered the
University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...
. Little is known about Böhm's university years or his life after graduation. He resurfaces again only in 1693, in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
. We know nothing of how Böhm lived there, but presumably he was influenced by the musical life of the city and the surrounding area. French and Italian operas were regularly performed in Hamburg, while in the area of sacred music,
Johann Adam Reincken Johann Adam Reincken (also ''Jan Adams, Jean Adam'', ''Reinken, Reinkinck, Reincke, Reinicke, Reinike''; baptized 10 December 1643 – 24 November 1722) was a Dutch/German organist and composer. He was one of the most important composers of the 1 ...
of St. Katharine's Church (''Katharinenkirche'') was one of the leading organists and keyboard composers of his time. Böhm may have also heard Vincent Lübeck in the nearby Stade, or possibly even
Dieterich Buxtehude Dieterich Buxtehude (; ; born Diderik Hansen Buxtehude; c. 1637 – 9 May 1707)  was a Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal ...
in
Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...
, which was also close.McLean, Grove. In 1698 Böhm succeeded Christian Flor as organist of the principal church of
Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also calle ...
, the Church of St. John ( ''Johanniskirche''). Soon after Flor died in 1697, Böhm applied for an audition for the post, mentioning that he had no regular employment at the time. He was promptly accepted by the town council, settled in Lüneburg and held the position until his death. He married and had five sons. From 1700 to 1702 he must have met and possibly tutored the young
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 wo ...
, who arrived in Lüneburg in 1700 and studied at the Michaelisschule, a school associated with the Church of St. Michael (''Michaeliskirche''). Practically no direct evidence exists to prove that Bach studied under Böhm, and indeed studying with the organist of the Johanniskirche would have been difficult for a pupil of the Michaelisschule, since the two choirs were not on good terms. Yet this apprenticeship is extremely likely.
Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and sec ...
, writing to
Johann Nikolaus Forkel Johann Nikolaus Forkel (22 February 1749 – 20 March 1818) was a German musicologist and music theorist, generally regarded as among the founders of modern musicology. His publications include '' Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Wor ...
in 1775, claimed his father loved and studied Böhm's music, and a correction in his note shows that his first thought was to say that Böhm was Johann Sebastian's teacher. On 31 August 2006 the discovery of the earliest known Bach autographs was announced, one of them (a copy of
Reincken Johann Adam Reincken (also ''Jan Adams, Jean Adam'', ''Reinken, Reinkinck, Reincke, Reinicke, Reinike''; baptized 10 December 1643 – 24 November 1722) was a Dutch/German organist and composer. He was one of the most important composers of the ...
's famous chorale fantasia on " An Wasserflüssen Babylon") signed "Il Fine â Dom. Georg: Böhme descriptum ao. 1700 Lunaburgi". The "Dom." bit may suggest either "domus" (house) or "Dominus" (master), but in any case it proves that Bach knew Böhm personally.Williams 2007, 375. This connection must have become a close friendship that lasted for many years, for in 1727 Bach named none other than Böhm as his northern agent for the sale of keyboard partitas nos. 2 and 3.Wolff, Grove. Böhm died on 18 May 1733 at the advanced age of 71. His son Jakob Christian, who would have inherited his post, died young. The position eventually went to Ludwig Ernst Hartmann, Böhm's son-in-law.


Works

Böhm is mainly known for his compositions for organ and
harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a ...
(primarily
prelude Prelude may refer to: Music *Prelude (music), a musical form *Prelude (band), an English-based folk band *Prelude Records (record label), a former New York-based dance independent record label *Chorale prelude, a short liturgical composition for ...
s, fugues, and partitas). Many of his works were designed with flexibility of instrument in mind: a particular piece could be played on the organ, the harpsichord, or the
clavichord The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. Historically, it was mostly used as a practice instrument and as an aid to composit ...
, depending on the situation in which the performer found himself. Böhm's music is notable for its use of the ''
stylus phantasticus The stylus fantasticus (or stylus phantasticus) is a style of early baroque music, especially for the instrumental music. Description and history The root of this music is organ toccatas and fantasias, particularly derived from those of Claudio ...
'', a style of playing based on improvisation. Böhm's most important contribution to North German keyboard music is the
chorale partita A chorale partita is a large-scale multimovement piece of music based on a chorale and written for a keyboard instrument. It represents a fusion of two forms of keyboard music: the north German chorale prelude and the Italian variation canzona. ...
, a large-scale composition consisting of several variations on a particular chorale melody. He effectively invented the genre, writing several partitas of varying lengths and on diverse tunes. Later composers also took up the genre, most notably
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 wo ...
. Böhm's chorale partitas feature sophisticated figuration in several voices over the harmonic structure of the chorale. His partitas generally have a rustic character and can be successfully performed on either the organ or the harpsichord.


Recordings

*Complete Harpsichord and Organ Music -
Simone Stella Simone Stella (born 1981 in Florence, Italy) is an Italian harpsichordist, organist, composer and producer. Biography He studied piano in Florence with Rosanita Racugno and Marco Vavolo, organ in Florence with Mariella Mochi and Alessandro A ...
(harpsichord, organ),
OnClassical OnClassical is an Italian independent record label. It features classical music mostly for single instrument or chamber ensemble. History Founded in April 2003 by Alessandro Simonetto, harpsichordist, producer and sound engineer, it enlists ...
(OC72-75B) licensed for Brilliant Classics (BC 94612), 2013. *Die Claviersuiten -
Mitzi Meyerson Mitzi Meyerson is an American harpsichordist and photographer. Biography She was born into a musical family in Chicago, Illinois, where she began her concert career at the age of seven. After completing her university and graduate studies in Ch ...
(harpsichord), GLOSSA (GCD 921801), 2003. *Keyboard Works -
Stef Tuinstra Stef Tuinstra (born 4 May 1954) is a Dutch organist, organ expert and author. Life Born in Groningen, Tuinstra grew up in a musical family. His father was an orchestra musician from Friesland, his mother an amateur singer, his brother Luuk play ...
(organ & harpsichord), DOCUMENT (DOC 1102), 2011.


Notes


References

* McLean, Hugh J. "Böhm, Georg", ''
Grove 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 the ...
'', ed. L. Macy (accessed 2006 March 23)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access). * Williams, Peter F. 2007. ''J.S. Bach: A Life In Music''. Cambridge University Press. 9780521870740


Further reading

*Waldschmidt, Carl L. ''Georg Böhm: his Life and Works'', diss., Northwestern U., 1963. *Cumrine, Carol Ann. ''The Keyboard and Vocal Settings of Georg Boehm: an Analysis of Style as Dictated by Text'', diss., Syracuse U., 1972. * Verkade, Gary G. ''Georg Böhm: Vater unser in Himmelreich á claviers et pedal: the Concept of Order'', diss., U. of Iowa, 1987. (Another title: ''The Concept of Order in the Keyboard Works of Georg Böhm.'') *Müller-Buscher, Henning. ''Georg Böhms Choralbearbeitungen für Tasteninstrumente''. Laaber, 1979. . :Discusses in-depth most of Böhm's chorale settings, including the main themes in each. There is a fair amount of related discussion as well, including aspects of Böhm's life. *Dirksen, Pieter. ''Georg Böhm's Keyboard Music: Questions of Authorship and Connections with the Music of Johann Sebastian Bach'', in: BACH: Journal of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute 49 (2018), 93–115. For a more complete list, see bibliography in McLean.


External links


Bach-Cantatas.com
by Aryeh Oron - medium-length biography of Böhm

by Timothy A. Smith - a short biography of Böhm *