Johann Melchior Ernst Sachs (28 February 1843 – 18 May 1917) was a German romantic

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 ...

, who also held teaching and performing posts. He studied first at Altdorf Seminary; taught in elementary schools from 1861 to 1863, and later entered the Munich College of Music and remained there from 1863 to 1865, before becoming a pupil there under

Joseph Rheinberger Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (17 March 1839 – 25 November 1901) was a Liechtensteiner organist and composer, residing in Bavaria for most of his life. Life Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, whose father was the treasurer for Aloys II, Prince of Liecht ...

, from 1867 to 1869, when it re-opened as the Royal Bavarian Music School, under the overall direction of

Hans von Bülow Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow (8 January 1830 – 12 February 1894) was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for es ...

. Sachs conducted the Liederkranz Society from 1868 to 1872, and in 1871 was appointed a teacher of harmony at the Royal Music School. From 1869 until 1873 he conducted a male choral society at Munich, and he was the founder and conductor of the Tonkunstlerverein. As a

music theorist Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

he held original opinions on many points. Most of his numerous compositions remain unpublished, but his work includes

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

;

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

s; an opera, ''Palestrina'', which was performed at

Ratisbon Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

in 1886; a ballad, ''Das Thal des Espingo'', for chorus and orchestra; a "

Pater Noster The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

"; and one work of gigantic dimensions, ''Kains Schuld und ihre Sühne'' (''

Cain Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He wa ...

, His Sin and Atonement''). This production was intended to fill seven evenings. He also composed many songs, and much piano music.

Selected works

*''8 Mädchenlieder'' (text:

Paul Heyse Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse (; 15 March 1830 – 2 April 1914) was a distinguished German writer and translator. A member of two important literary societies, the ''Tunnel über der Spree'' in Berlin and ''Die Krokodile'' in Munich, he wrote no ...

) for soprano and piano, Op. 6 *''3 Stimmungsbilder'', for piano, Op. 11 * ''Waldbächleins Thalfahrt'', etude for piano, Op. 12 *''2 Gesänge'', Op. 14 *''Palestrina'', opera *''Kains Schuld und ihre Sühne'' (''Cain, His Sin and Atonement'') *''Bethanien'' (text: Luise Hitz), cantata a for female soloist, chorus, piano and string orchestra

References

External links

*
Bayerisches Musiker Lexikon Online biography (in German)
*
List of works at OPACplus
German Romantic composers German opera composers Male opera composers 1843 births 1917 deaths University of Music and Performing Arts Munich alumni German male classical composers 19th-century German musicians 20th-century German male musicians 19th-century German male musicians {{Germany-composer-stub