Johann Ludwig Krebs (baptized 12 October 1713 – 1 January 1780) was a German

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

musician and composer for the

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

, harpsichord, other instruments and orchestras. His output also included chamber music, choral works and concertos.

Life

Krebs was born in 1713 in

Buttelstedt Buttelstedt is a town and a former municipality in the Weimarer Land district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 11 km north of Weimar. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the municipality Am Ettersberg. History Within the German Empire ...

Johann Tobias Krebs Johann Tobias Krebs (7 July 1690 – 11 February 1762) was a German organist and composer, today best remembered as the father of Johann Ludwig Krebs, one of Bach's most accomplished pupils. Krebs was born in Heichelheim and went to school i ...

, an organist. At least three of his brothers were musically talented. Krebs was sent to

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 ...

to study organ,

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

, and the violin. Krebs studied with

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 ...

on the organ. Bach (who had also instructed Krebs's father) held Krebs in high standing. From a technical standpoint, Krebs was unrivaled next to Bach in his organ proficiency. However, Krebs found it difficult to obtain a patron or a cathedral post. His Baroque style was being supplanted by the newer

galant The galant style was an 18th-century movement in music, visual arts and literature. In Germany a closely related style was called the '' empfindsamer Stil'' (sensitive style). Another close relative is rococo style. The galant style was drawn in ...

music style and the

classical music era The Classical period was an era of classical music between roughly 1750 and 1820. The Classical period falls between the Baroque and the Romantic periods. Classical music has a lighter, clearer texture than Baroque music, but a more sophistic ...

. Krebs took a small post in

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ' ...

, and in 1755 (five years after the death of Bach, which is normally referred to as the end of the Baroque period) he was appointed court organist of

Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg () was a duchy ruled by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in today's Thuringia, Germany. The extinction of the line in 1825 led to a major re-organisation of the Thuringian states. History In 1640 the sons of the l ...

under Prince Friedrich. Krebs had seven children and struggled to feed his family. Despite never holding a court composer post, and never being commissioned for a work, Krebs was able to compose a significant collection of works, though few were published until the 1900s.

Works

Krebs's

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

is considered by many to be comparable to Bach's, but it was old-fashioned and excessively complex for the galant era, which espoused clarity and simplicity. Krebs's ''Fantasia in F minor'' for oboe and organ is one of his best-known works, as is the ''

Eight Short Preludes and Fugues The Eight Short Preludes and Fugues (also Eight Little Preludes and Fugues), BWV 553–560, are a collection of works for keyboard and pedal formerly attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. They are now believed to have been composed by one of Bach ...

'' that are sometimes attributed to him as well as to his father and J.S. Bach. He is also remembered for two large-scale concertos for

and orchestra. Krebs's three sons became well-known performers in their day, and one of them became a noted

Lieder In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French sp ...

composer. Krebs’ organ works include the following:Krebs, Johann Ludwig. ''Johann Ludwig Krebs: Samtliche Orgelwerke'' (Gerhard Weinberger, ed.,

Breitkopf & Härtel Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf. The catalogue currently contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on ...

, 1985). *7 Preludes and Fugues *2 Toccatas and Fugues *3 Preludes *4 Preludes (small) *2 Fantasias and Fugues (one fugue is a fragment) *3 Fantasias *11 Fugues *17 Trios *35 Chorale Settings (with 5 Variants and 6 other Chorale Settings of dubious authenticity) *13 Chorales with 3 Settings of each – "Clavierübung" (Nuremberg, 1752–1753) *5 Fantasias for wind instrument (trumpet, flute, oboe) and organ; 1 Variant *15 Chorale Settings for wind instrument and organ; 1 Fragment

Bibliography

* ''Clavier Ubung Bestehend in verschiedenen vorspielen und veränderungen einiger Kirchen Gesaenge'' (Nürnberg, J.U. Haffner, ca. 1744) * ''Clavier-Ubung bestehet in einer ..Suite ..Zweyter Theil'' (Nürnberg, J.U. Haffner, ca. 1744) * ''Clavier-Ubung bestehend in sechs Sonatinen … IIIter Theil'' (Nürnberg, J.U. Haffner, ca. 1744)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krebs, Johann Ludwig 1713 births 1780 deaths People from Buttelstedt People from Saxe-Weimar German Baroque composers German classical composers German male classical composers German classical organists Organists and composers in the North German tradition German male organists Composers for harpsichord Composers for pipe organ Composers for lute 18th-century German people 18th-century classical composers 18th-century male musicians German lutenists Pupils of Johann Sebastian Bach 18th-century keyboardists Male classical organists