Johann Christian Friedrich Hæffner (2 March 1759 in Oberschönau – 28 May 1833 in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the c ...

) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

-born

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

composer. Hæffner received his first musical education with the

Schmalkalden Schmalkalden () is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwest of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the Werra. , the town had a popul ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

Johann Gottfried Vierling. He studied 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 ...

from 1776, and then worked as a music conductor in theatres in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

and

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

from 1778 to 1780. He moved to Stockholm, Sweden in 1781 at the invitation of the German congregation there (''Tyska kyrkan'') to assume the position of

, which he held until 1793. The same year (1781) he was employed at the Royal Theatre in Stockholm as well as conductor of the orchestra for the Stenborg theatres. In 1786 Hæffner was appointed assistant conductor of the Royal Orchestra (''hovkapellet'') and from 1795 to 1807 he held the post of ''hovkapellmästare'' (Chief conductor of the Royal Orchestra). He was also an instructor at the

Royal Dramatic Training Academy The Royal Dramatic Training Academy ( sv, Kungliga Dramatiska Teaterns Elevskola, also known as ''Dramatens elevskola''), was the acting school of Sweden's national stage, the Royal Dramatic Theatre, and for many years (1787–1964) seen as the ...

. He was married twice, first to the Swedish actress and singer

Elisabeth Forsselius Gertrud Elisabeth Forsselius née ''Forsell'', also called Forselia, later known as Elisabet Haeffner and Elisabet Fahlgren (23 January 1771 – 15 February 1850), was a Swedish stage actress and opera singer. She belonged to the pioneer genera ...

. Since King

Gustaf IV Adolf Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland. The occupation of Finland in 1808–09 ...

closed the Royal Opera (and its orchestra) in 1807, Hæffner moved to

, where in 1808 he was appointed Director musices of the university and simultaneously was employed as organist of the cathedral. In Uppsala he organized the ''studentsång'' ("Student singing") - four-voice male choir singing. This practice rapidly spread to the other Nordic universities and is still today a coveted tradition, not only among university students, but for the last century also in many (most ?) male choirs all over Sweden. Hæffner's passion and work for this has procured for him the name ''Studentsångens fader'' ("Father of 'studentsång'). The starting point of this tradition is usually set to a performance of ''Under Svea banér'' (words by P.D.A. Atterbom, music by Hæffner) by a student choir celebrating the war hero ''Klingspor'' on 24 October 1808. Hæffner composed three

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

s, theatre music, a

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

, songs with piano accompaniment, and was responsible for the new Swedish chorale book in 1819. Noteworthy is his

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

''Försonaren på Golgatha'' (''"The Saviour on Golgatha"''). Hæffner died in Uppsala on 28 May 1833.

Works

*''Den svartsjuke sin egen rival, eller Sängkammareko'' (''The Jealous is his own Rival, or Bed Chamber Echo"), theatre music, 1784 *''Electra'', opera, Swedish libretto by

Adolf Fredrik Ristell Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...

after

Nicolas François Guillard Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

, 1787 *''Alcides' inträde i världen'', Opera in one act, Swedish libretto by Abraham Niclas Clewberg-Edelcrantz 1793 *''Renaud'', Opera, Swedish libretto by N. B. Sparrschöld after

Torquato Tasso Torquato Tasso ( , also , ; 11 March 154425 April 1595) was an Italian poet of the 16th century, known for his 1591 poem ''Gerusalemme liberata'' ( Jerusalem Delivered), in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between ...

1801 *Arias for ''Äfventyraren'' by Johan Magnus Lannerstjerna and for ''Eremiten'' by

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 ...

Sources

Nordisk Familjebok 1909

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haeffner, Johann Christian Friedrich 1759 births 1833 deaths People from Schmalkalden-Meiningen German emigrants to Sweden Swedish people of German descent Swedish classical composers German male classical composers German Romantic composers German opera composers Male opera composers Swedish classical organists German classical organists German male organists Cathedral organists Voice teachers 19th-century classical composers 19th-century German composers Burials at Uppsala old cemetery 18th-century Swedish musicians 19th-century Swedish musicians 19th-century German male musicians Male classical organists