Johann Friedrich Agricola (4 January 1720 – 2 December 1774) was a German composer,

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 ...

, singer,

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

, and writer on music. He sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Flavio Anicio Olibrio.

Biography

Agricola was born in Dobitschen, Thuringia.

Leipzig

While a student of law at

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 ...

(1738–41) he studied music under

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 wo ...

. Philipp Spitta. '' Johann Sebastian Bach: His Work and Influence on the Music of Germany, 1685–1750''. Novello & Co. 1899
III, p. 243
/ref>

Berlin

In 1741 Agricola went to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, where he studied musical composition under

Johann Joachim Quantz Johann Joachim Quantz (; 30 January 1697 – 12 July 1773) was a German composer, flutist and flute maker of the late Baroque period. Much of his professional career was spent in the court of Frederick the Great. Quantz composed hundreds of flute ...

. He was soon generally recognized as one of the most skillful organists of his time. The success of his comic opera, ''Il filosofo convinto in amore'', performed at

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of ...

in 1750, led to an appointment as court composer to

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

. In 1759, on the death of

Carl Heinrich Graun Carl Heinrich Graun (7 May 1704 – 8 August 1759) was a German composer and tenor. Along with Johann Adolph Hasse, he is considered to be the most important German composer of Italian opera of his time. Biography Graun was born in Wahrenbr� ...

, he was appointed conductor of the royal orchestra. He married the noted court operatic soprano Benedetta Emilia Molteni, despite the king's prohibition of court employees marrying each other. Because of this trespass, the king reduced Molteni's and Agricola's combined salaries to a single annual salary of 1,000 ''

Thaler A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter o ...

s'' (Agricola's annual salary alone had been 1,500 ''Thalers'').Scherer, F. M. ''Quarter Notes and Bank Notes: The Economics of Music Composition in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003. Agricola died in Berlin at age 54.

Legacy

Agricola wrote a number of Italian operas, as well as ''

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 s ...

,''

chorale Chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one of the th ...

preludes, various other keyboard pieces and church music, especially

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 ...

s and

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning o ...

s. His reputation chiefly rests, however, on his theoretical and critical writings on musical subjects.

Author

In 1754 he co-authored, with

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and sec ...

, J. S. Bach's obituary. His 1757 ''Anleitung zur Singekunst'' (''Introduction to the Art of Singing'') is a translation of

Pier Francesco Tosi Pier Francesco Tosi (c. 16531732) was a castrato singer, composer, and writer on music. His ''Opinoni de' cantori antichi e moderni...'' was the first full-length treatise on singing and provides a unique glimpse into the technical and social asp ...

's 1723 treatise ''Opinioni de' cantori antichi e moderni'' with Agricola's own extensive comments. He edited and added extensive commentary to the 1768 (posthumous) edition of Jakob Adlung's ''

Musica mechanica organoedi Friedrich Wilhelm Birnstiel was an 18th-century German music publisher known for publishing two volumes of four-part chorales by Johann Sebastian Bach in the 1760s., ''Johann Sebastian Bachs vierstimmige Choralgesänge, gesammlet von Carl Philipp ...

''
English translation
. His annotations are considered an important source of information on J. S. Bach's views on the

fortepiano A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. M ...

designs of

Gottfried Silbermann Gottfried Silbermann (January 14, 1683 – August 4, 1753) was a German builder of keyboard instruments. He built harpsichords, clavichords, organs, and fortepianos; his modern reputation rests mainly on the latter two. Life Very little is know ...

, on the

lute-harpsichord The lautenwerck (also spelled lautenwerk), alternatively called lute-harpsichord (lute-clavier) or keyboard lute, is a European keyboard instrument of the Baroque period. It is similar to a harpsichord, but with gut (sometimes Nylon) rather than ...

, and on organ building. Richard D. P. Jones, entry on Johann Friedrich Agricola, Oxford Composer Companion: J. S. Bach (ed. Malcolm Boyd), Oxford University Press, 1999,

Copyist

Agricola is also noted in Bach studies as one of the copyists for both books of the Well-Tempered Clavier and the

St. Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It set ...

Composer

Keyboard

*Ach, was soll ich Sünder machen *Jauchzet, ihr Erlösten dem Herren *Harpsichord Sonata in F major

Organ

*Jesu, meine Freude *Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott *Auf meinen lieben Gott *Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott *Es ist das Heil uns kommen her *Jauchzt, ihr Erlösten, dem Herren *O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort *Herr, ich habe mißgehandelt *Herr Jesu Christ, ich weiß gar wohl *Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten *Ach, was soll ich Sünder machen *O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid *Keinen hat Gott verlassen *Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen *Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele *Ich hab mein Sach Gott heimgestellt

Chamber works

*Flute Sonata in A major

Vocal works

*A la mignonne de fortune (song) *L'accorto nocchiero (aria) *Canzonetta, Les Rois d'Égypte *6 Canzonettes *Cleofide * Torna aprile e l'aure scherzano (aria)

Choral works

*Die Hirten bei der Krippe, cantata for 4 voices, chorus & orchestra *Kündlich gross ist das gottselige Geheimnis, cantata for 4 voices, chorus & orchestra *Uns ist ein Kind geboren, cantata for 4 voices, chorus & orchestra * Die Hirten bey der Krippe zu Bethlehem, sacred cantata * Der König jauchzt, sacred cantata * Il tempio d'amore, serenata * Magnificat in D major

Opera

*''

Alessandro nell'Indie ''Alessandro nelle Indie'' (''Alexander in India'') is an opera seria in two acts by Giovanni Pacini to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola and Giovanni Schmidt, based on '' Alessandro nell'Indie'' by Pietro Metastasio. It was premiered at the Teatr ...

'' (1754) *''Achille in Sciro'', (1765) * ''L'Ippocondriaco''

References

Attribution *

External links

*
Agricola, Johann Friedrich
at

Bach Digital Bach Digital (German: ), developed by the Bach Archive in Leipzig, is an online database which gives access to information on compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach and members of his family. Early manuscripts of such compositions are a major foc ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agricola, Johann Friedrich 1720 births 1774 deaths People from Altenburger Land German Classical-period composers German male classical composers People from Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Music directors of the Berlin State Opera German music theorists Pupils of Johann Sebastian Bach 18th-century classical composers 18th-century male musicians 18th-century conductors (music) Writers about music