Gottlob Harrer (8 May 1703 – 9 July 1755) was a German composer and choir leader.

Life

Harrer was born in

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...

, and studied music in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

and Italy. From 1731 he worked in the chapel-choir of Reichsgraf

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 ...

. Following the death 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 ...

in 1750, Harrer became his successor as

Thomaskantor (Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of cantor a ...

in Leipzig, remaining in his post until his own death in 1755. He composed much instrumental music, including 27 symphonies, 24 orchestral suites, 51 flute duets and a number of harpsichord sonatas. He also wrote two masses for choir and orchestra, one mass for unaccompanied voices, 47 cantatas and a number of oratorios, passions, psalms, and motets.

Bibliography

* A. Schering: ''Der Thomaskantor Johann Gottlob Harrer.'' In: ''

Bach-Jahrbuch The ''Bach-Jahrbuch'' ("Bach yearbook" or according to the publication's website "Bach Annals") is an Periodical literature, annual publication related to the composer Bach. It is published in German by the Neue Bachgesellschaft in Leipzig. It is t ...

''. Band XXVII. 1931
ADB entry
* Ulrike Kollmar: ''Gottlob Harrer (1703–1755), Kapellmeister des Grafen Heinrich von Brühl am sächsisch-polnischen Hof und Thomaskantor in Leipzig'' (= ''Schriften zur mitteldeutschen Musikgeschichte''. Band 12). Ortus-Musikverlag, Beeskow 2006, .

External links

* *http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Harrer-Johann-Gottlob.htm 1703 births 1755 deaths Thomaskantors German classical composers German male classical composers German Baroque composers 18th-century classical composers 18th-century conductors (music) People from Görlitz 18th-century German composers 18th-century German male musicians {{Germany-composer-stub