Georg Neumark (16 March 1621 – 8 July 1681) was a German poet and composer of
hymns
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
.
Life
Neumark was born in
Langensalza
Bad Langensalza (; until 1956: Langensalza) is a spa town of 17,500 inhabitants in the Unstrut-Hainich district, Thuringia, central Germany.
Geography Location
Bad Langensalza is located in the Thuringian Basin, the fertile lowlands along t ...
, the son of Michael Neumark and his wife Martha. From 1630 he attended the gymnasium in
Schleusingen
Schleusingen is a town in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 10 km north of Hildburghausen, and 12 km southeast of Suhl.
Geography
The town of Schleusingen in the Henneberger Land got its name from ...
and later transferred to that of
Gotha
Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the Gotha (district), district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine House of Wet ...
. In 1640 he began law studies at the
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Pruss ...
. Fleeing the
tumult of war he took a position as tutor in
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...
. In 1643 he was able to return to
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...
, where he devoted himself more and more to music, in which he was greatly supported by
Simon Dach
Simon Dach (29 July 1605 – 15 April 1659) was a German lyrical poet and hymnwriter, born in Memel, Duchy of Prussia (now Klaipėda in Lithuania).
Early life
Although brought up in humble circumstances (his father was a poorly paid court in ...
.
After graduating in law Neumark went first to
Danzig and in 1649 to
Thorn
Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to:
Botany
* Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants
* ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species
Comics and literature
* Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...
. Two years later, in 1651, he returned to his native
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
. There his uncle, councilor Plattner, introduced him to the duke
Wilhelm IV of Saxe-Weimar, who appointed him ''Kanzleiregistrator'' and in 1652 librarian.
In the following year the duke brought Neumark into the
Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft
The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''societas fructifera'') was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility. Its aim was to standardize vernacular German and promote it a ...
. He received the nickname ''der Sprossende'' (the sprouting) and the
motto
A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...
''Nützlich und ergetzlich'' (useful and delightful), as well as the emblem ''Schwarzbraune gefüllte Nelken'' (dark-brown carnation). In 1656 he was elected ''Erzschreinhalter der Fruchtbringenden Gesellschaft'' (guardian of the shrine). His famous hymn ''Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten'' appeared in 1641.
The
Pegnesische Blumenorden (a poet's society in Nürnberg named after the river
Pegnitz) accepted Neumark as a member in 1679. He carried on an extensive but not untroubled correspondence with the society's president,
Sigmund von Birken
Sigmund von Birken (25 April 1626 – 12 June 1681) was a German poet of the Baroque. He was born in Wildstein, near Eger, and died in Nuremberg, aged 55.
His pupil, Sibylle Ursula von Braunschweig-Lüneburg
Sibylle Ursula von Braunschweig-Lü ...
, who acted as his literary agent.
A writer of both sacred and secular poetry, he was considered one of the more imaginative composers of continuo songs of
Baroque Music in Germany, with mostly secular texts, and some melodies considered the best of his time. Many songs have violin and gamba obbligatos and ritornellos, in which he likely played the gamba in his presentations of the songs. His choral ''Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten'' appears in Bach's cantata ''Gott ist uns`re Zuversicht'', BWV 197.
On 8 July 1681, Neumark died at the age of 60 in
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
, where he was interred in the
Jacobsfriedhof
The Jacobsfriedhof, also known as the Jakobskirchhof ("St. James's Burial Ground" or "Churchyard"), is the oldest extant burial ground in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany, on land round the Jakobskirche (St. James's Church). The first burials took pl ...
. The
Evangelical Church marks his memorial on 9 July.
Selected works
* ''
Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten'', 1641, his most famous hymn, used by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1724 for his
chorale cantata A chorale cantata is a church cantata based on a chorale—in this context a Lutheran chorale. It is principally from the German Baroque era. The organizing principle is the words and music of a Lutheran hymn. Usually a chorale cantata includes m ...
''
Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, BWV 93''
* ''Poetisch- und Musikalisches Lustwäldchen'', Hamburg 1652
* ''Fortgepflantzter Musikalisch-Poetischer Lustwald'', Jena 1657
* ''Christlicher Potentaten Ehren-Krohne'', Jena 1675
* ''Poetisch-Historischer Lustgarten'', Frankfurt/Main 1666
* ''Poetische Tafeln, oder gründliche Anweisung zur deutschen Verskunst'', Nürnberg 1668
* ''Der Neu-Sprossende Teutsche Palmbaum'', Nürnberg 1669
* ''Thränendes Haus-Kreutz'', Weimar 1681
Digitalisat
References
Further reading
* Gottfried Claussnitzer: ''Georg Neumark. Ein Lebens- und Literaturbild aus dem siebzehnten Jahrhundert''. Diss., Universität Leipzig 1924
* Hans Friese: ''Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten. Georg Neumark und sein Lied''. Evangelische Verlags-Anstalt, Berlin 1960
* Franz Knauth: ''Georg Neumark nach Leben und Dichten''. Beyer, Langensalza 1881
* Michael Ludscheidt: ''Georg Neumark (1621–1681). Leben und Werk''. Winter, Heidelberg 2002, (zugl. Dissertation der Univ. Jena, 2000)
Bibliographies
*
Gerhard Dünnhaupt: "Georg Neumark (1621–1681)", in: ''Personalbibliographien zu den Drucken des Barock'', Bd. 4. Stuttgart: Hiersemann 1991, S. 2958–78.
External links
Biography at Bach-cantatas.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neumark, Georg
1621 births
1681 deaths
People from Bad Langensalza
German Lutherans
German poets
German classical composers
German male classical composers
German Lutheran hymnwriters
German Baroque composers
17th-century classical composers
German-language poets
17th-century male musicians