Georg Gebel (25 October 1709 – 24 September 1753) was a German musician and composer. Gebel was born in Brieg,

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 ...

(present-day

Brzeg Brzeg (; Latin: ''Alta Ripa'', German: ''Brieg'', Silesian German: ''Brigg'', , ) is a town in southwestern Poland with 34,778 inhabitants (December 2021) and the capital of Brzeg County. It is situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on t ...

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 ...

) to Georg Gebel the Elder, also a musician and composer. He studied music under his father, and in 1729 became second

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 h ...

at the church of St. Mary Magdalene in Breslau (present-day

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

), as well as '' Kapellmeister'' to the Duke of Oels. He joined

Heinrich von Brühl Heinrich, count von Brühl ( pl, Henryk Brühl, 13 August 170028 October 1763), was a Polish-Saxon statesman at the court of Saxony and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and a member of the powerful German von Brühl family. The incumbency of ...

's orchestra in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

in 1735, where he met Pantaleon Hebenstreit, the inventor of the pantalon, and learned to play that instrument. In 1747 he was appointed ''Kapellmeister'' to

John Frederick, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt John Frederick, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (8 January 1721 in Rudolstadt – 10 July 1767 in ibid) was the ruling Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt from 1744 to 1767. Life John Frederick von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was the only son of ...

. He died in

Rudolstadt Rudolstadt is a town in the German federal state Thuringia, with the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north. The former capital of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the town is built along the River Saale inside a wide v ...

in 1753. Gebel was a prolific composer. While in Breslau, he wrote a variety of instrumental and vocal music, and while in Rudolstadt, wrote 12

opera 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 libr ...

s, two Passions, two

Christmas cantata A Christmas cantata or Nativity cantata is a cantata, music for voice or voices in several movements, for Christmas. The importance of the feast inspired many composers to write cantatas for the occasion, some designed to be performed in church serv ...

s, sets of cantatas for several years, more than 100 orchestral symphonies,

partita Partita (also ''partie'', ''partia'', ''parthia'', or ''parthie'') was originally the name for a single-instrumental piece of music (16th and 17th centuries), but Johann Kuhnau (Thomaskantor until 1722), his student Christoph Graupner, and Johann ...

s, concertos, and so on.

Works

* 144 cantatas * 4 Kyrie * Passionsmusik in 6 parts for soloist, chorus and orchestra (HKR 976) * Weihnachtsoratorium (HKR 843) * Neujahrsoratorium (HKR 827)

Recordings

* Georg Gebel: Weihnachtsoratorium and Neujahrsoratorium; Cantus Thuringia und Capella Thuringia, Leitung: Bernhard Klapprott, with Monika Mauch, Kai Wessel, Nico van der Meel,

Peter Kooy Peter Kooij (or, internationally Kooy, born 1954, in Soest) is a Dutch bass singer who specializes in baroque music. Biography Kooij started his musical career at 6 years as a choir boy. However he started his musical studies as a violin stud ...

, (Classic Production Osnabrück, Audio CD 2004) * Georg Gebel: Johannes Passion, with:

Ludger Rémy Ludger Rémy (4 February 1949 – 21 June 2017) was a German harpsichordist, conductor and musicologist. Biography Born in Kalkar, Ludger Rémy studied the harpsichord in Freiburg im Breisgau and continued his studies with Kenneth Gilbert ...

Dorothee Mields Dorothee Mields (born 15 April 1971) is a German soprano concert singer of Baroque and contemporary music. Career Mields was born in Gelsenkirchen. She studied at the University of the Arts Bremen with Elke Holzmann, Harry van der Kamp and Ga ...

, Henning Voss,

Jan Kobow Jan Kobow (born 1966) is a German classical tenor in concert, Lied, and Baroque opera. Professional career Jan Kobow was born and raised in Berlin. He was a singer and soloist of the ''Staats- und Domchor, Berlin'' with Christian Grube. He stud ...

, Klaus Mertens, Sebastian Bluth, Canto Weimar and Weimar Baroque Ensembles (Classic Production Osnabrück, Audio CD 2004) * Christmas Cantatas Vol. 1 ''Verfolge mich, o Welt; Gott Lob! Mein Jesus macht mich rein'',

Veronika Winter Veronika Winter (born February 2, 1965 in Limburg an der Lahn) is a German soprano. She is particularly noted for her recordings of Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed ...

, Britta Schwarz, Andreas Post, Matthias Vieweg, Les Amis de Philippe, Ludger Remy CPO, 2010 * Christmas Cantatas Vol. 2 forthcoming

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gebel, Georg 1709 births 1753 deaths German classical organists German male organists German Baroque composers People from Austrian Silesia 18th-century classical composers 18th-century keyboardists German classical composers German male classical composers 18th-century German composers 18th-century German male musicians Male classical organists