Johann Gottlieb Naumann (17 April 1741 – 23 October 1801) was a German composer, conductor, and

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

Life

Johann Gottlieb Naumann was born in

Blasewitz Blasewitz is a larger borough (''Stadtbezirk'') of Dresden, Germany in the city's eastern centre on the Elbe river. It consists of seven quarters (''Stadtteile''): *Blasewitz *Striesen-Ost *Striesen-Süd *Striesen-West *Tolkewitz/Seidnitz-Nord *S ...

and received his musical training from the teachers at his town school, where he was instructed in piano and organ. Later, he studied at the

Kreuzschule The ''Kreuzschule'' (German for "School of the Cross") in Dresden (also known by its Latin name, ''schola crucis'') is the oldest surviving school in Dresden and one of the oldest in Germany. As early as 1300, a schoolmaster (''Cunradus puerorum r ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

and was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor. In Dresden he was taught by the organist and cantor of the Kreuzschule, Gottfried August Homilius, a student of

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 wor ...

. In May 1757, he traveled to Italy with the Swedish violinist Anders Wesström. The composer

Giuseppe Tartini Giuseppe Tartini (8 April 1692 – 26 February 1770) was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era born in the Republic of Venice. Tartini was a prolific composer, composing over a hundred of pieces for the violin with the majority of ...

encountered Naumann in 1762 and took an interest in his work. Later that year, he made his debut as an opera composer in Venice with ''Il tesoro insidiato.'' Following his successful 1764 production of ''Li creduti spiriti,'' he was engaged as the second church composer at the Dresden court, on the composer

Johann Adolf Hasse Johann Adolph Hasse (baptised 25 March 1699 – 16 December 1783) was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a co ...

's recommendation. The chord sequence which became known as the '' Dresden amen'' was composed by Naumann for use in the Court Church in Dresden. Such was its popularity that it spread to other churches in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a ...

, both

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

. It was also used by later composers, including

Felix 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 ...

(in his ''

Reformation Symphony The Symphony No. 5 in D major/D minor, Op. 107, known as the ''Reformation'', was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1830 in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession. The Confession is a key document of Lutherani ...

'') and

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

(in his opera ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...

''). In 1777, as a result of negotiations by Swedish diplomat Count Löwenhjelm, Naumann was appointed to reform the Stockholm Hovkapell and assist King Gustavus III in his opera plans. His work in Sweden led to the 1782 production of his opera ''Cora och Alonzo'' at the inauguration of the new opera house in Stockholm and the 1786 production of ''Gustaf Wasa,'' based on an idea of the king for a

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera ( sv, Kungliga Operan) is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern sid ...

. After a brief period as a guest composer in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

(1785–86), he returned to Dresden where he became Oberkapellmeister. In 1792 he married Catarina von Grodtschilling, daughter of a Danish vice-admiral. His grandson was composer

Ernst Naumann Carl Ernst Naumann (15 August 183215 December 1910) was a German organist, composer, conductor, editor, arranger and musicologist. He is best known now as an arranger and editor of the music of J.S. Bach, Mozart and Mendelssohn. He was a frien ...

(1832–1910). Naumann also wrote music for

masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

rituals.* Hill, Cecil (1980). "Masonic music", in ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'', ed. Stanley Sadie, vol. 11, 753–756 Naumann died in

, aged 60.

Works (selected)

Operas: *''Il tesoro insidiato'' (1762) *''Li creduti spiriti'' (1764, in collaboration with two other composers) *''L’Achille in Sciro'' (1767) *'' Alessandro nelle Indie'' (1768) *''La clemenza di Tito'' (1769) *''Il villano geloso'' (1770) *''L’isola disabitata'' (1773) *''La villanella inconstante'' (aka ''Le nozze disturbate'', 1774) *''Ipermestra'' (1774) *''L’ipocondriaco'' (1776) *''Amphion'' (opéra-ballet 1778) *''Armida'' (1773, in German as ''Armide'' 1780) *''Elisa'' (1781) *''Osiride'' (1781) *''Cora och Alonzo'' (1782) *''Tutto per amore'' (1785) *'' Gustaf Wasa'' (1786) *''Orpheus og Eurydike'' (1786, Danish; 1787, German) *''La reggia d’Imeneo'' (1787) *''Medea'' (1788) *''Protesilao'' (1789) *''La dama soldato'' (1791) *''Amore giustificato'' (1792) *''Aci e Galatea'' (1801) Sacred Works: *Missa solenne in A-flat Major (1804) *Twenty other smaller masses *Twelve oratorios, including: **''

La Passione di Gesù Cristo LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' (1767) **''La morte d’Abel'' (1790) **''I pellegrini al sepolcro'' (1798) **''Betulia liberata'' (1805) *Psalms 69, 103 & 149 *Masonic music incl. 2 marches for organ Instrumental Works: *Twelve symphonies (1766–77) *Six quartets for harpsichord, flute, violin and bass (1786) *Twelve sonatas for piano or glass harmonica (1786–92) *Six sonatas for piano or glass harmonica, Op. 4

Notes

External links

*
Autograph of Orfeus
in the digital collections of the

Danish Royal Library The Royal Library ( da, Det Kongelige Bibliotek) in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and the university library of the University of Copenhagen. It is among the largest libraries in the world and the largest in the Nordic countries ...

*
Bicentennial exhibit
in Dresden * Dieter Härtwig and Laurie Ongley: "Johann Gottlieb Naumann," Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 12 December 2006
(subscription access)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naumann, Johann Gottlieb 1741 births 1801 deaths Musicians from Dresden German opera composers Male opera composers People from the Electorate of Saxony People educated at the Kreuzschule Pupils of Giovanni Battista Martini Pupils of Giuseppe Tartini German male classical composers Composers of masonic music