Johann Christoph Altnickol, or Altnikol, (baptised 1 January 1720, buried 25 July 1759) was a German organist, bass singer, and composer. He was a student,

copyist A copyist is a person that makes duplications of the same thing. The term is sometimes used for artists who make copies of other artists' paintings. However, the modern use of the term is almost entirely confined to music copyists, who are emplo ...

and son-in-law of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Biography

Altnikol was born in Berna bei Seidenberg, Oberlausitz, and first educated at the Lauban Lyceum in 1733. He was employed as a singer and assistant organist at St Maria Magdalena, Breslau, between 1740 and 1744. He began studying theology at the University of Leipzig from March 1744, after being granted four ''

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 of ...

s'' as a '' viaticum'' in January of that year. From Michaelmas 1745 he sang as a

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

in Johann Sebastian Bach's choirs (asserted by Bach in May 1747 when Altnickol claimed a grant of 12 ''thalers'' in April/May 1747 for the work), something he should not have been allowed to do as a university student. He also served as a scribe for Bach, copying for example ''

The Well-Tempered Clavier ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', BWV 846–893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time, ''clavier'', meaning keyboard, referred to a variety of in ...

''. He was recommended by

W. F. Bach Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (22 November 17101 July 1784), the second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach, was a German composer and performer. Despite his acknowledged genius as an organist, improviser and composer ...

as the successor to his post at Dresden in April 1746, with the assertion that he had studied keyboard and composition with his father, but was not awarded the appointment. He was appointed as organist and schoolmaster at

Niederwiesa Niederwiesa is a municipality in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, 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, ...

, near Greiffenberg, Silesia, in January 1748, after Bach testified that he was a satisfactory student. In September of that year, he moved to a post at St Wenzel,

Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...

, after another recommendation from Bach; the council unanimously agreed to appoint him before they had received his formal application. He married Bach's daughter Elisabeth Juliane Friederica in January 1749; their first son was born in October of the same year and named Johann Sebastian, but

died in infancy Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...

. Forkel wrote that Bach dictated his last chorale prelude (''Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit'', BWV 668) to Altnickol on his deathbed, although this manuscript did not survive. Altnikol acted as a trustee after Bach died in 1750, and was involved in distributing his estate. He took his brother-in-law Gottfried Heinrich Bach, believed to have been mentally handicapped, into his household, and also took on the teaching of

J. G. Müthel ''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', formerly known as ''Jweekly'', is a weekly print newspaper in Northern California, with its online edition updated daily. It is owned and operated by San Francisco Jewish Community Publications In ...

. He was unsuccessful in an application for a post at the Johanniskirche, Zittau, in 1753, along with

. He taught trumpeter J. Ernst Altenburg in 1757, and is known to have directed a pasticcio Passion

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 of ...

Wer ist der, so von Edom kömmt ''Wer ist der, so von Edom kömmt'' is a pasticcio Passion oratorio based on compositions by Carl Heinrich Graun, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Sebastian Bach and others. The pasticcio was assembled around 1750. The only extant manuscript of ...

'', featuring music by

C. H. 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 Wahrenbrüc ...

, Bach and Telemann, as well as Bach's ''

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 sets ...

.'' He was succeeded by Johann Friedrich Gräbner at

upon his death in 1759. His widow lived on an allowance from C. P. E. Bach, her half-brother. She is known to have remained in Naumburg until 1763, when her brother Gottfried Heinrich died; she later moved back to Leipzig, where her two daughters married; she died on 24 August 1781.

Compositions

Many of his works have been lost.

Vocal

* Missa in D minor ( Kyrie and

Gloria Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins) ...

) * Sanctus (2 settings), 1748

Cantatas

* ''Frohlocket und jauchzet in prächtigen Chören'' * ''Ich lebe und ihr sollt auch leben''

Motets

* ''Befiehl du deine Wege'' * ''Nun danket alle Gott'' ( SSATB), , partly based on BWV 386. Bach Digital Work

Keyboard

Sonata Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...

in C major *7 dances * Ricercar a 4

References

Sources

*Walter Emery/

Andreas Glöckner Andreas Glöckner (born 1950 in Sondershausen) is a German musicologist, a Bach scholar who has served as the dramaturge of the Bachfest Leipzig. Career Glöckner studied musicology at the University of Leipzig. He worked at the Bach Archive L ...

: 'Altnickol ltnikol Johann Christoph', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 2007-06-13), http://www.grovemusic.com/ * * * * (subscription)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Altnickol, Johann Christoph German male classical composers German classical composers German Baroque composers German classical organists German male organists Bach family 1719 births 1759 deaths Pupils of Johann Sebastian Bach Leipzig University alumni 18th-century classical composers 18th-century male musicians 18th-century keyboardists Male classical organists