Johann Peter Ritter (2 July 1763 - 1 August 1846) was a German

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, conductor,

chorus master Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verses ...

, and

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

born and died in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

). He is best known in the United States for "

Sun of My Soul The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radia ...

" and "

Holy God, We Praise Thy Name "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" (original German: "Großer Gott, wir loben dich") is a Christian hymn, a paraphrase of the Te Deum. The German Catholic priest Ignaz Franz wrote the original German lyrics in 1771 as a paraphrase of the Te Deum, a C ...

." Peter Ritter was son of the

oboist An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette. The following is a list of notable past and pres ...

Georg Wilhelm Ritter and the nephew of the bassoonist Georg Wenzel Ritter. He was a student of Abbé Vogler, who also taught

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...

and

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his opera ...

. He played cello in the orchestra of the

Mannheim National Theatre The Mannheim National Theatre (german: Nationaltheater Mannheim) is a theatre and opera company in Mannheim, Germany, with a variety of performance spaces. It was founded in 1779 and is one of the oldest theatres in Germany. History In the 18 ...

beginning in 1786 and became one of its

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

s in 1801. From 1803 to 1823 he worked as its conductor. His successor was the

Antonio Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monarchy ...

student, Michael Frey. In addition to more than 20 stage works, including ''Die lustige Weiber'', one of the earliest known operas after

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and one of ten operatic adaptations of ''

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

''. Ritter also composed church music and various instrumental works. His brother,

Heinrich Ludwig Ritter Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

, became known as a violinist, his, son

Karl August Ritter Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austrian ...

, was a singer.

Works

*''Der Eremit auf Formentera'' (Libretto:

August von Kotzebue August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (; – ) was a German dramatist and writer who also worked as a consul in Russia and Germany. In 1817, one of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl L ...

), komische Oper, 1788 *''Der Sklavenhändler'' (Libretto:

Christian Friedrich Schwan Christian Friedrich Schwan (12 December 1733, Prenzlau – 29 June 1815, Heidelberg) was a German publisher and bookseller. After studies of theology in Halle and Jena, he worked as a proofreader at the Academy in St. Petersburg. In 1762 he was a ...

), Singspiel, 1790 *''Die Weihe'' (Libretto:

Georg Christian Römer Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: People * George (given name) * G ...

), musikalisches Schauspiel, 1792 *''Die lustigen Weiber'' (Libretto: Georg Christian Römer after Shakespeare), Singspiel, 1794 *''Dilara oder Die schwarze Zauberinsel'' (Libretto:

Wolfgang Heribert von Dalberg Wolfgang Heribert Kämmerer von Worms Freiherr von Dalberg (born 18 November 1750 in Worms-Herrnsheim, died 27 September 1806 in Mannheim) was a courtier and statesman of Baden, who served as Minister of State and Grand Master of the Household. He ...

after

Carlo Gozzi __NOTOC__ Carlo, Count Gozzi (; 13 December 1720 – 4 April 1806) was an Italian ( Venetian) playwright and champion of Commedia dell'arte. Early life Gozzi was born and died in Venice; he came from a family of minor Venetian aristocracy, the T ...

), Singspiel, 1798 *''Das Fest in Apollons Haine'' (Libretto: Georg Christian Römer), Festspiel zu Ehren des schwedischen Königspaares, 1803 *''Das neue Jahr (Neujahr) in Famagusta'' (after

Clemens Brentano Clemens Wenzeslaus Brentano (also Klemens; pseudonym: Clemens Maria Brentano ; ; 9 September 1778 – 28 July 1842) was a German poet and novelist, and a major figure of German Romanticism. He was the uncle, via his brother Christian, of Franz a ...

, Die lustigen Musikanten), Singspiel, 1804 *''Das Fest am Rheine'' (Libretto:

Siegfried August Mahlmann Siegfried August Mahlmann (May 13, 1771 – December 16, 1826) was a German poet and editor. Mahlmann was born in Leipzig, and studied law at the University of Leipzig. In his early life, he served as private tutor to a young nobleman, whom he a ...

), 1806 *''Salomon's Urtheil'' (Libretto: Georg Christian Römer), Oper, 1808 *''Das Fest im Olymp'', musikalischer Prolog zum Namenstag der Großherzogin Stephanie von Baden, 1808 *''Der Zitherschläger'' (Libretto:

Heinrich Seidel Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Seidel (25 June 1842, Perlin, Germany, Perlin, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Schwerin – 7 November 1906, Berlin) was a German engineer, poet and writer. Life Seidel was the son of a pastor and st ...

), Singspiel, 1810 *''Das Tal von Barzelonetta oder Die beiden Eremiten'', Singspiel, 1811 *''Feodore'' (Libretto: August von Kotzebue), Singspiel, 1811 *'' Alexander in Indien (Die Macedonier am Indus)'' (Libretto: Georg Christian Römer after

Pietro Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of '' opera seria'' libretti. Early life Me ...

), Oper, 1811 *''Die Jubelfeier'' (Libretto: Karl Ludwig Kaibel), musikalisches Drama, 1816 *''Leonore oder Das Geistergericht'' (after

Gottfried August Bürger Gottfried August Bürger (31 December 1747 – 8 June 1794) was a German poet. His ballads were very popular in Germany. His most noted ballad, '' Lenore'', found an audience beyond readers of the German language in an English and Russian ada ...

), Ballade, 1815 *''Der Schutzgeist'' (Libretto: August von Kotzebue), dramatische Legende, 1816 *''Alfred'' (Libretto: August von Kotzebue), Oper, 1820 *''Der Mandarin oder Die gefoppten Chinesen'' (Libretto von

Heinrich Ritter Heinrich August Ritter (; 21 November 1791 – 3 February 1869) was a German philosopher and historian of philosophy. He was born in Zerbst, and studied philosophy and theology at the University of Göttingen and Berlin until 1815. In 1824 he be ...

), komisches Singspiel, 1821 *''Hoang-Puff oder Das dreifache Horoskop'' (Libretto: Hermann Herzenskron), Singspiel, 1822 *''Bianca'' (Libretto:

Albert Ludwig Grimm Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert C ...

), Oper, 1825 *''Der Talisman'', Singspiel, 1825 *''Das Grubenlicht'' (Libretto: Louise Beck), romantische Oper, 1833

External links

*
Peter Ritter
im '' Bayerischen Musiker-Lexikon Online'' (BMLO)
Liste der Bühnenwerke von Peter Ritter
auf Basis der '' MGG'' bei Operone
Musikalische Akademie des National-Orchesters Mannheim - Geschichte

Oxford Grove Music Encyclopedia: Peter Ritter
*Peter Ritter at American Directory of Historical Recordings https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/talent/detail/41312/Ritter_Peter_composer Musicians from Mannheim German composers German classical cellists German conductors (music) 1763 births 1846 deaths {{Germany-conductor-stub