![Johann Vesque von Püttlingen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Johann_Vesque_von_P%C3%BCttlingen.jpg)
Johann Vesque von Püttlingen (pseudonym Johann Hoven) (23 July 1803 – 29 October 1883), born J. Vesque de Puttelange, was an Austrian lawyer, diplomat, author, composer and singer. His full name and title in German was Johann Vesque,
Freiherr
(; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...
von Püttlingen.
Early life
He was born in the
Lubomirski Palace (pl:''Pałac Lubomirskich'') in
Opole Lubelskie (at the time located in
West Galicia
New Galicia or West Galicia ( pl, Nowa Galicja or ''Galicja Zachodnia'', german: Neugalizien or ''Westgalizien'') was an administrative region of the Habsburg monarchy, constituted from the territory annexed in the course of the Third Partition ...
, a province of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
in eastern
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, now in
Lublin Voivodship
The Lublin Voivodeship, also known as the Lublin Province ( Polish: ''województwo lubelskie'' ), is a voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in southeastern part of the country. It was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Lublin, Che ...
).
;Background
His father,
Jean Vesque de Puttelange, born in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, was a state official (civil servant) in Brussels, at the time in the
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Neth ...
, a region of the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The pe ...
, themselves part of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
. Jean Vesque had to leave in a hurry after the French invasion of the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
in 1793, but found himself banned (with the other Belgian officials of the late Brussels administration) from Vienna, where there were enough civil servants already; having rejected a French offer of citizenship of the new greater France - now including southern Belgium and Luxembourg - his estates were confiscated and he found himself
stateless.
left, His birthplace, Lubomirski Palace in Opole Lubelskie, designed c.1770 by ''
i.a.''
">Domenico Merlini
After many years of wandering in Europe, often on foot, Jean Vesque obtained a position c1801 at the palace of Prince
Alexander Lubomirsky in
Opole Lubelskie, where he worked as librarian and tutor to his daughter
Alexandra Francis Lubomirska, and where his son, also Johann Vesque (later von Püttlingen), was born in 1803.
West Galicia had recently come under
Habsburg control after the
Third Partition of Poland
The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...
in 1795.
The ban on Austro-Belgian officials settling in Vienna was lifted the following year, 1804, and the family moved to
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. The subsequent life of the infant Johann Vesque divides into two intertwining careers, that of a government official, and that of a composer.
Civil service career
After schooling - including some musical training - he entered the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...
in 1822 to study law, gaining his
LLD (''Dr. jur.'') with honours in 1827. He then became a civil servant, entering the
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
n legal service (or magistracy) as an 'Auscultant' or probationer (''Anwärter'' auf das Richteramt), rising to become chief administrative officer of Salzburg by 1872. He moved to the Austrian diplomatic service, making his way to head of section in the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in 1866 he was elevated to the
barony (''Freiherrenstand''). In 1876 he became a
Privy Councillor of the
Imperial Council.
He was one of Austria's leading lawyers and was also active as a writer in this field: among other things he published a ground-breaking work on "The rights of the musical author" (1864); a description of the law relating to foreign citizens in Austria; and a review of Austria's agreements with foreign states.
Musical career
Aged 13, he had started piano lessons with
:de:Maximilian Josef Leidesdorf, a well-known pianist who was a friend (and publisher) of
Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
and
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
. He studied composition with
Eduard von Lannoy, who came from Brussels like Johann's father, Jean Vesque; he got to know Schubert in 1827-8, and through him had singing lessons with the renowned baritone
Johann Vogl.
The critic
Eduard Hanslick described his well-trained tenor voice: "The witty, lightly emphasised, almost French 'breathy' tone, which Vesque - especially in his recital of his humoristic ''lieder'' - was aware of putting on, was quite unique."
[„Der geistreiche, leicht pointierende, fast französisch angehauchte Ton, den Vesque in den Vortrag namentlich seiner humoristischen Lieder zu legen wusste, war ganz einzig". ]
Starting in 1828, he published a number of his own compositions under the name 'J. Hoven', or later 'Johann van Hoven'. many of which - like the rest of his oeuvre - were contributions to the
lyric vocal repertoire; over 100 of his songs were settings of
Heinrich Heine. In total he composed over 330
lieder, notably the ''Ironischen Lieder''; six operas, including
''Turandot'' (1838) and ''Jeanne d'Arc'' (1840); and about twenty
quartets, in both sacred and secular settings. Among his contacts were numbered
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
and
Clara Schumann
Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...
,
Hector Berlioz,
Franz Liszt,
Carl Loewe
Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe (; 30 November 1796 – 20 April 1869), usually called Carl Loewe (sometimes seen as Karl Loewe), was a German composer, tenor singer and conductor. In his lifetime, his songs ("Balladen") were well enough known for s ...
,
Giacomo Meyerbeer,
Felix Mendelssohn and
Otto Nicolai.
Four of his six operas were successfully produced at the
Kärntnertortheater: ''Turandot'' 1838, ''Johanna d’Arc'' 1840, ''Liebeszauber'' 1845, ''Ein Abenteuer Carl des Zweiten'' 1850. He helped to reconstruct the threatened
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde
The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien (), also known as the Wiener Musikverein (German for 'Viennese Music Association'), is an Austrian music organization that was founded in 1812 by Joseph Sonnleithner, general secretary of the Court Thea ...
, and was its vice-president 1851/52, while continuing on the building of the Conservatory of the GdM, whose director he was. He organised performances of
Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...
's oratorios in Vienna, and directed the musical festivals in the Royal winter
Spanish Riding School
The Spanish Riding School (german: Spanische Hofreitschule) is an Austrian institution dedicated to the preservation of classical dressage and the training of Lipizzaner horses, based in Vienna, Austria, whose performances in the Hofburg are also ...
. He was a member of the Royal Commission for the World Fair 1873, and also collected autographs.
He died in Vienna.
Works
According to Grove, his published compositions reach to Opus no. 58.
*Complete list of works
;Operas
* ''
Turandot
''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is " Nessun dorma", ...
'', 2 acts (1838).
**Overture, arr. piano 4 hands
**Vocal score arr. composer, .de & .it text
* ''Joan of Arc'', 3 acts (1840). Performed in Dresden in 1845, with
Johanna Wagner
Johanna Jachmann-Wagner or Johanna Wagner (13 October 1828 – 16 October 1894) was a mezzo-soprano singer, tragédienne in theatrical drama, and teacher of singing and theatrical performance who won great distinction in Europe during the third ...
in the title part. Vocal score by Diabelli
* ''Liebeszauber'' 4 acts (1845).
* ''Catherine de Heilbronn'' (1847)
* ''Burg Thaya'', 3 acts (1847) ('Thaya Castle'). Apparently not performed.
* ''Ein Abenteuer Carl des Zweiten'', 1 act (1850) ('An adventure of Carl II').
* ''Der lustiger Rath'', 2 acts (1852). Produced at
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 ...
by
Franz Liszt.
* ''Lips Tullian'', 1 act. Not performed.
Operettas reviewed by Hanslick, 15 Jan 1850
;Choral works
* Mass in D (1846), for soloists, chorus and orchestra, performed at the Vienna Hofkapelle
* A second Mass.
;Piano (and violin)
* Six Cotillons, op. 1, pour le pianoforte
* Twelve Ländler, op. 2, for piano
* Cotillons et galopade, op. 3, piano 4 hands
* Cotillons et galopade, op. 4, arr. for violin and piano
* ''Flüchtiger Lust''. Walzer und Galoppe fur pianoforte, op. 5
;Vocal works
* c.300 songs for voice and piano, including
**''Die Heimkehr''. Acht und achtzig Gedichte aus Heinrich Heine's Reisebildern in Musik gesetzt von J. Hoven" (Vesque). Wien, aus der konlig. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1851 (''Die Heimkehr'': 88 poems from
Heinrich Heine's 'Travel Pictures')
**45 Songs
__
*Balladen, Romanzen und Lieder. 3 Hefte, opp. 6, 7 & 8
** op. 6. - 2 songs #1. ''Ritter Toggenburg'' ('Toggenburg the knight'), text by
Friedrich Schiller. #2. ''Die Eisersucht''
** op. 7 - 3 songs
** op. 8 - 6 songs, texts by Salis & Heine
*Drei Gedichte, op. 9, from Heine's ''Reisebildern''
*Three songs by Zerboni di Sposetti, op. 10
*Die zwölfte Stunde, op. 11, poems by Heine
* ''Der Doktor und der Patient'', Op. 13, comic duet for two bass voices and piano (ed. Martin Wiener)
*Liebesleiden, op. 21, poems of Heine
*Abendbilder, op. 22, from Heine's ''Reisebildern''
*"Standchen" von Koerner (Serenata), 0p. 24
*Wie der Mond sich leuchtend dränget, op. 27
*"Liebsvoll"
*Sonntag auf dem Meere, 30. Werk (L. A. Frankl) 12 songs for voice & piano, 2 books No. 9 - Goethe Dämmerung
*Vier Lieder by Heinrich Heine, op. 36
*Humoristica from Heine's poems, op. 38
*Six Heine poems, op. 39
*Fünf neue Gedichte von Heinrich Heine, op. 40
*Ironische Lieder von H. Heine op. 41
*Sei ''ariette'' dedicate a Mad. Albina Maray, op. 42
*Six songs for alto voice and piano, op. 43
*Songs, op. 44
*7 Gedichte aus dem "neuen Fruhling" von Heine, op. 45
*Six poems from 'New Spring' by Heine, op. 46
*Sechs Gedichte von Chamisso, op. 47 (2 Hefte)
*Three songs, op. 48
*Six songs, op. 49
*Three songs, op. 51
*Six songs, opp, 52, 54, 55, 56
*''Lieder frommer Stimmung'', op. 57
__
*''Liebesrauch'', von J. Hoven (Curci, C. "L'estasi di amore" di G. Perruzzini)
*"Der Sängerskampf", komische Ballade, text von
August Schmidt August Schmidt may refer to:
* August Schmidt (Wehrmacht) (1892–1972), German general
* August Schmidt (Luftwaffe)
August Schmidt (1 February 1883 – 23 November 1955) was a highly decorated General der Flakartillerie in the Luftwaffe during ...
(1843)
__
*Jagers Qual (von Seidl), for tenor, horn and piano
;Vocal ensemble:
* Vocal quartets, op. 20 for male quartet
Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, Volume 19, 1848
p. 111
References
;Notes
;Citations
;Sources
*
*
* Hanslick, Eduard. (1869) ''Geschicte des Concertwesens in Wien, 1'' (in German)
*
*
* Online copy a
both retrieved 27 October 2015.
*
*
*
External links
* (In German)
*
Brief biography under "Bientôt le Printemps musical en pays mosellan du 11 au 24 mars 2007"
(in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vesque Von Puttlingen, Johann
1803 births
1883 deaths
People from Opole Lubelskie County
Austrian Romantic composers
Austrian opera composers
Male opera composers
Barons of Austria
19th-century classical composers
Austrian male classical composers
19th-century male musicians