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Johann Kuhnau (; 6 April 16605 June 1722) was a German polymath, known primarily as a
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 ...
today. He was also active as a novelist, translator,
lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
, and music theorist, and was able to combine these activities with his duties in his official post as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, which he occupied for 21 years. Much of his music, including operas, masses, and other large-scale vocal works, is lost. His reputation today rests on his ''Biblical Sonatas'', a set of programmatic
keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
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 ...
s published in 1700, in which each sonata depicted in detail a particular story from the Bible. After his death, Kuhnau was succeeded as Thomaskantor by Johann Sebastian Bach.


Biography

Much of the biographical information on Kuhnau is known from an autobiography published by Johann Mattheson in 1740 in his ''Grundlage einer Ehrenpforte''. Kuhnau's Protestant family was originally from
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, and their name was Kuhn. Kuhnau was born in Geising, present-day Saxony. His musical talents were apparent early, and in around 1670, he was sent to Dresden to study with court musicians there. During the next decade, he studied keyboard playing and music composition, as well as French and Italian. In 1680, an offshoot of the
Great Plague of Vienna The Great Plague of Vienna occurred in 1679 in Vienna, Austria, the imperial residence of the Austrian Habsburg rulers. From contemporary descriptions, the disease is believed to have been bubonic plague, which is caused by the bacterium ''Yersin ...
reached Dresden, and Kuhnau returned home. He subsequently studied music at the Johanneum in Zittau, and then law at Leipzig University. Exceptionally active as a composer and performer during his university years, he was appointed organist of Leipzig's Thomaskirche in 1684, at the age of 24.Buelow, Grove. In 1688, Kuhnau completed his dissertation and began practicing law. He was still working as an organist and continued composing. In 1689 he published his first collection of keyboard works, followed by three more in 1692, 1696, and 1700. During the 1690s, he translated a number of books into German from Italian and French, completed and published his best-known novel, the satirical ''Der musicalische Quack-Salber'' (1700), and devoted his spare time to studying various subjects such as
mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
, Hebrew and Greek. In 1701 he succeeded Johann Schelle as Thomaskantor and kept the position until his death. Unfortunately, although he was successful in directing the many musical activities of the Thomaskirche and teaching at
Thomasschule St. Thomas School, Leipzig (german: Thomasschule zu Leipzig; la, Schola Thomana Lipsiensis) is a co-educational and public boarding school in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1212 and is one of the oldest schools ...
, Kuhnau started suffering from bad health. Scholar
Willi Apel Willi Apel (10 October 1893 – 14 March 1988) was a German-American musicologist and noted author of a number of books devoted to music. Among his most important publications are the 1944 edition of '' The Harvard Dictionary of Music'' and ''Fre ...
noted that the job was "as vexatious and difficult for him as for his successor,
J.S. Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suite ...
."Apel 1972, 667. Not only health troubles, but also efforts by rival musicians and composers such as Georg Philipp Telemann and Kuhnau's own student
Johann Friedrich Fasch Johann Friedrich Fasch (15 April 1688 – 5 December 1758) was a German violinist and composer. Much of his music is in the Baroque-Classical transitional style known as galant. Life Fasch was born in the town of Buttelstedt, 11 km north o ...
, undermined his activities as Kantor. Kuhnau died in Leipzig on 5 June 1722. He was survived by three daughters, from a marriage of 1689. His pupils included not only Fasch, but also
Johann David Heinichen Johann David Heinichen (17 April 1683 – 16 July 1729) was a German Baroque composer and music theorist who brought the musical genius of Venice to the court of Augustus II the Strong in Dresden. After he died, Heinichen's music attracted little a ...
and
Christoph Graupner Christoph Graupner (13 January 1683 – 10 May 1760) was a German composer and harpsichordist of late Baroque music who was a contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and George Frideric Handel. Life Born in Hartmannsdorf ...
.


Music

Kuhnau's reputation today rests on four collections of music for keyboard, which he published in 1689–1700. Particularly important is the last volume, titled ''Musicalische Vorstellung einiger biblischer Historien'', and known popularly as the ''Biblical Sonatas.'' It contains six sonatas, each outlining a biblical story in several contrasting movements: * ''The Fight between David and Goliath'' * ''Saul's melancholy cured by the music played by David on his harp'' * ''Jacob's Wedding'' * ''Hezekiah's sickness and restoration'' * ''Gideon, Saviour of Israel'' * ''Jacob's Death and Burial'' Kuhnau uses a wide variety of musical devices to portray the series of events (the sounding of trumpets, the hurling of David's stone, etc.) as well as the characters' psychological states (e.g. the Israelites' fright before a battle, or Hezekiah's joy darkened by a remembrance of his illness). These devices are not limited to changes of texture or harmony, but also include quotations from Protestant chorales (the Israelites' prayer is based on Luther's Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir) and imitations of operatic arias (Gideon's fear). The other keyboard works by Kuhnau show a varied approach to form. The two parts of his ''Clavier-Übung'' include 7 suites each. The first is only in the major mode, and the second is only in the minor mode. The suites almost always begin with a
prelude Prelude may refer to: Music *Prelude (music), a musical form *Prelude (band), an English-based folk band *Prelude Records (record label), a former New York-based dance independent record label *Chorale prelude, a short liturgical composition for ...
, and continue through the usual order of dances – allemande,
courante The ''courante'', ''corrente'', ''coranto'' and ''corant'' are some of the names given to a family of triple metre dances from the late Renaissance and the Baroque era. In a Baroque dance suite an Italian or French courante is typically paired ...
,
sarabande The sarabande (from es, zarabanda) is a dance in triple metre, or the music written for such a dance. History The Sarabande evolved from a Spanish dance with Arab influences, danced by a lively double line of couples with castanets. A dance cal ...
, gigue – occasionally with a minuet or aria placed between the dances. Kuhnau's preludes are almost always in two sections: a prelude and a
fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...
(or a ''fugato'' section), complete with countersubjects Kuhnau mentions in the preface. Kuhnau's ''Sonata in B-flat major'', appended to the ''Neuer Clavier-Übung, anderer Theil'', was for some time considered to be the earliest known keyboard sonata. Later research has shown that it was rather the first keyboard sonata published in Germany and that Kuhnau simply followed the naming convention established by contemporary foreign composers. The composer himself commented on the issue in the preface:
I have also appended a ''Sonata in B-flat major'', which should also be pleasing to the amateurs. Why shouldn't one provide such pieces for keyboard which are provided for other instruments? Indeed, no instrument has been able to dispute the clavier's reputation for perfection.
The third volume, titled ''Frische Clavier Früchte'', contains six sonatas modelled on Italian chamber sonatas. According to music authors Milton Cross and David Ewen, the work's publication is an "important event in musical history" since it is one of the earliest serious attempts at composing works for keyboard instruments besides the organ. A wide variety of forms and textures is employed: even the opening movements range from toccata-like miniatures to full-fledged chaconnes. Kuhnau's approach to the episodes of the many fugues of this collection has been called "perhaps his primary contribution to the historical development of fugue as an extended form" by one scholar. ''Frische Clavier Früchte'' was Kuhnau's most popular work in his lifetime, reprinted five times (including one posthumous publication). Much of Kuhnau's vocal music is lost, including an opera (''Orpheus''), a setting of the Passion according to St. Mark (''Markus-Passion''), a three-choir '' Te Deum'', and at least two settings of the mass. The surviving cantatas are simple harmonically and melodically, yet expressive. Unlike those of his predecessors at the Thomaskirche, Kuhnau's cantatas feature a unified approach to form: most begin with an instrumental section followed by alteration of arias and recitatives. The Christmas
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 ...
'' Uns ist ein Kind geboren'', formerly attributed to Bach as BWV 142, was most likely composed by Kuhnau.


Writings

Of the few surviving books and treatises by Kuhnau, perhaps the most important is ''Der musicalische Quack-Salber'' ("The Musical Quack"), a
satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
novel published in 1700. It describes the fictional exploits of Caraffa, a German charlatan who strives to make a name for himself as musician by posing as an Italian virtuoso. The novel's literary qualities have been noted, one writer venturing to call it linguistically innovative, and it has also proven to be a singularly valuable source for performance practices of the late 17th century. Two other satirical works by Kuhnau are known: ''Der Schmid seines eignen Unglückes'' ("The Maker of His Own Misfortune", 1695) and ''Des klugen und thörichten Gebrauchs der Fünf Sinnen'' ("On the Clever and Foolish Use of the Five Senses", 1698). Some of Kuhnau's satirical concepts and story turns are influenced by Christian Weise's novels. Kuhnau knew Weise from his days at Zittau, where Weise worked as Rector of the Gymnasium, and Kuhnau used to provide music (now lost) for Weise's school plays. Kuhnau's theoretical treatise ''Fundamenta compositionis'' survives in a single manuscript which also contains an anonymous treatise on
double counterpoint In music theory, an inversion is a type of change to intervals, chords, voices (in counterpoint), and melodies. In each of these cases, "inversion" has a distinct but related meaning. The concept of inversion also plays an important role in mu ...
(''Kurtze doch deutliche Reguln von den doppelten Contrapuncten'') and two texts by
Christoph Bernhard Christoph Bernhard (1 January 1628 – 14 November 1692) was born in Kolberg, Pomerania, and died in Dresden. He was a German Baroque composer and musician. He studied with former Sweelinck-pupil Paul Siefert in Danzig (now Gdańsk) and in War ...
; the entire manuscript was at one point attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. Unfortunately, ''Fundamenta'' appears to be a bad and partial copy from Kuhnau's original. The last five chapters are a direct copy from another Bernhard treatise on invertible counterpoint, while the discussion of modes is very similar to that in
Walther Walther is a masculine given name and a surname. It is a German form of Walter, which is derived from the Old High German ''Walthari'', containing the elements ''wald'' -"power", "brightness" or "forest" and ''hari'' -"warrior". The name was fir ...
's ''Praecepta der musicalischen Composition'' (1708), yet omits several passages included in Walther. The similarity raised an important question about Walther's well-known and highly regarded treatise: how heavily was it based upon Kuhnau's lost original? Or did both Walther and Kuhnau borrow from another writer, currently unknown? Kuhnau authored at least two more theoretical works, but those are only known by name: ''Tractatus de tetrachordo seu musica antiqua ac hodierna'' and ''De triade harmonica''. His views on musical modes, solmization, and other matters are preserved in a letter dated 8 December 1717, published by Mattheson in ''Critica musica'' in 1725. In addition, the "Biblical Sonatas" include a large preface in which Kuhnau explores the idea of program music and various related matters.


Family

Kuhnau's nephew Johann Andreas Kuhnau, born in Annaberg on 1 December 1703, was one of the principal copyists for J. S. Bach. He attended the
Thomasschule St. Thomas School, Leipzig (german: Thomasschule zu Leipzig; la, Schola Thomana Lipsiensis) is a co-educational and public boarding school in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1212 and is one of the oldest schools ...
from 1718, and studied at the Leipzig University from 1719. He died after 1745.


List of works

Numerous works by Kuhnau are lost, including stage works, cantatas, numerous pieces of occasional music, and so on. Some cantatas, arias, and odes survive in text-only versions. Lost also were at least two treatises: ''Tractatus de tetrachordo seu musica antiqua ac hodierna'' and ''De triade harmonica''. The following list only includes works that are extant in complete form.The entire list is edited from Buelow, Grove, omitting all lost works, details on editions, etc.


Keyboard

* ''Neuer Clavier-Übung, erster Theil'', 7 suites (1689) * ''Neuer Clavier-Übung, anderer Theil'', 7 suites and 1 sonata (1692) * ''Frische Clavier Früchte'', 7 sonatas (1696) * ''Musicalische Vorstellung einiger biblischer Historien'', 6 sonatas (1700) * Prelude in G major, organ * Praeludium alla breve, organ * Fugue in G major, organ * Toccata in A major, organ


Sacred vocal

* ''Ach Herr, wie sind meiner Feinde so viel'' * ''Bone Jesu, chare Jesu'' * ''Christ lag in Todesbanden'' * ''Daran erkennen wir, dass wir in ihm verbleiben'' * ''Das Alte ist vergangen'' * ''Ende gut und alles gut'' * ''Erschrick mein Hertz vor dir'' * ''Es steh Gott auf'' (doubtful) * ''Frohlocket, ihr Völker, und jauchzet, ihr Heiden'' * ''Gott der Vater, Jesus Christus, der Heil'ge Geist wohn uns bey'' * ''Gott hat uns nicht gesetzt zum Zorn'' * ''Gott sei mir gnädig'' * ''Ich freue mich im Herrn'' * ''Ich habe Lust abzuscheiden'' * ''Ich hebe meine Augen auf'' * ''Ihr Himmel jubilirt von oben'' * ''In te Domine speravi'' * ''Laudate pueri'' * ''Lobe den Herrn meine Seele'' (2 versions, for 2 and 5 voices) * ''Lobet, ihr Himmel, den Herrn'' * ''Mein Alter kommt, ich kann nicht sterben'' * Magnificat * Missa brevis * ''Muss nicht der Mensch auf dieser Erden'' * ''Nicht nur allein am frohen Morgen'' * ''O heilige Zeit, wo Himmel, Erd und Luft'' (2 versions, 1 for 2 voices doubtful, 1 for 4 voices) * ''Schmücket das Fest mit Meyen'' * ''Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied'' * ''Spirate clementes'' * ''
Tristis est anima mea Tristis est anima mea (Sad is my soul) is the Latin phrase with which starts. It is Tristis est anima mea (responsory), the second responsory of the Tenebrae for Maundy Thursday which was often set to music. It may also refer to: *Movement XI of ...
'' * ''Und ob die Feinde Tag und Nacht'' * ''Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her'' * ''Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan'' * ''Weicht ihr Sorgen aus dem Hertzen'' * ''Welt adieu, ich bin dein müde'' * ''Wenn ihr fröhlich seid an euren Festen'' * ''Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern''


Secular vocal

* ''Ach Gott, wie lästu mich erstarren'', aria for the burial of Rektor Titius, Zittau, 19 May 1681


Writings

* ''Divini numinis assistentia, illustrisque jure consultorum in florentissima academia Lipsiensi'' (dissertation; Leipzig, 1688) * ''Der Schmid seines eignen Unglückes'' (novel; 1695) * ''Des klugen und thörichten Gebrauchs der Fünf Sinnen'' (novel; 1698). * ''Der musicalische Quack-Salber'' (novel; Dresden, 1700) * ''Fundamenta compositionis'' (treatise; 1703)


Notes


References

* Apel, Willi. 1972. ''The History of Keyboard Music to 1700''. Translated by Hans Tischler. Indiana University Press. . Originally published as ''Geschichte der Orgel- und Klaviermusik bis 1700'' by Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel. * Becker-Cantarino, Barbara. 2005. ''German Literature of the Eighteenth Century: The Enlightenment and Sensibility'', Boydell & Brewer. * * Butt, John. 1992. Liner notes, ''Johann Kuhnau: Keyboard Works'', Harmonia Mundi HMX 2907360.61 * * Hahn, K. 1956. ''Johann Kuhnaus "Fundamenta Compositionis"'', GfMKB: Hamburg 1956, 103–4. * Hardin, James (ed.). 2001. ''The Camden House History of German Literature'', Boydell & Brewer. * Newman, W.S. 1953–1954. ''A Checklist of the Earliest Keyboard "Sonatas" (1641–1738)'', Notes, xi (1953–54), 201–211. * * Rose, Stephen. 2011. ''The Musician in Literature in the Age of Bach'', Cambridge University Press. * Seares, Margaret. 2014. ''Johann Mattheson’s Pièces de clavecin and Das neu-eröffnete Orchestre: Mattheson’s Universal Style in Theory and Practice''. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. * Silbiger, Alexander (ed.). 2004. ''Keyboard Music Before 1700'' Routledge. * Walker, Paul. 2004. ''Theories of Fugue from the Age of Josquin to the Age of Bach'', University Rochester Press.


Further reading

*


External links

* * *
Free Listening of "Neue Clavier-Übung", Books I/II (Leipzig 1689/1692)
performed by Fernando De Luca
Free Listening of "Frische Clavier Früchte", Leipzig 1696
performed by Fernando De Luca
The Kuhnau Project
Pfefferkorn Verlag with Opella Musica, Camerata Lipsiensis and Gregor Meyer. Project to publish and record Kuhnau's surviving sacred works to mark the tercentenary of his death.
Johann Kuhnau, Complete Works for Keyboard
(2016), edited by Norbert Müllemann, with preface and critical commentary,
G. Henle Verlag G. Henle Verlag is a German music publishing house specialising in Urtext editions of classical music. The catalogue includes works by composers from different epochs periods, in particular composers from the Baroque to the early twentieth cent ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuhnau, Johann 1660 births 1722 deaths German Baroque composers German classical composers German male classical composers People from the Electorate of Saxony Thomaskantors German music theorists People educated at the Kreuzschule 18th-century classical composers 18th-century German composers 18th-century German male musicians