Nicolaus Adam Strungk (christened 15 November 1640 in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

– 23 September 1700 in

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 ...

) was a German composer and violinist. N A Strungk - Signature

Life

Nicolaus Adam was the son of the organist Delphin Strungk. He studied organ under his father, then at the

University of Helmstedt The University of Helmstedt (german: Universität Helmstedt; official Latin name: ''Academia Julia'', "Julius University"), was a university in Helmstedt in the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel that existed from 1576 until 1810. History Found ...

. From 1660 he studied violin with Nathanael Schnittelbach, performing for the Duke of Wolfenbüttel, and Kaiser Leopold I in Vienna. From 1665 he was chamber musician in the service of Prince Johann Friedrich in Hanover. In 1679 Strungk became director of the

Hamburger Ratsmusik The ''Hamburger Ratsmusik'' was the name, in German, for the Hamburg city government musical establishment of Hamburg during the baroque period. ''Ratsmusik'' was a generic term to distinguish from ''Hausmusik,'' domestic music making, during the ...

. In 1688 he succeeded

Christian Ritter Christian Ritter (probably 1645 to 1650 – probably after 1725) was a composer and organist of the North German organ school. Biography Ritter was probably a pupil of Christoph Bernhard in Dresden. A notice on one of his works described him as ...

as deputy Kapellmeister and organist in Dresden, where in 1693 he succeeded

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 Wa ...

as Hofkapellmeister. He left after three years, in 1696, to take up directorship of the

Leipzig Opera The Leipzig Opera (in German: ) is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany. History Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Sing ...

. He died of fever („am hitzigen Fieber“) a few years later. His fourth daughter, Dorothea Christine Lachs, was a noted poet and author of the libretto to

Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hilde ...

's '' Germanicus''.

Works

Strunck's surviving keyboard compositions, two

ricercar A ricercar ( , ) or ricercare ( , ) is a type of late Renaissance and mostly early Baroque instrumental composition. The term ''ricercar'' derives from the Italian verb which means 'to search out; to seek'; many ricercars serve a preludial funct ...

s and seven capriccios, were composed in Rome and Vienna between 1683 and 1686. They were written in a strictly contrapuntal style with two or three sections, each having a different subject. Strungk composed several operas for Hamburg und Leipzig: * ''Der glückselig steigende Sejanus'' (1678) * ''Der unglückselig fallende Sejanus'' (1678) * ''Die liebreiche, durch Tugend und Schönheit erhöhte Esther'' (1680) * ''David oder Der königliche Sclave'' (1680) * ''Die drei Töchter Cekrops'' (1680) * * ''Alceste'' (Hamburg, 1680) (possibly by Johann Wolfgang Franck) *''Semele'' (1681) * ''Theseus'' (1683) * ''Semiramis'' (1683) * ''Florette'' (1683) * ''Jupiter und Alcmena'' (Leipzig, 1696) * ''Phocas'' (Leipzig, 1696) * ''Pyrrhus und Demetrius'' (Leipzig, 1696) * ''Orion'' (Leipzig, 1697) * ''Scipio und Hannibal'' (Leipzig, 1698) * ''Ixion'' (Leipzig, 1699) * ''Agrippina'' (Leipzig, 1699) * ''Erechtheus'' (Leipzig, 1700) Cantatas.

Recordings

* Nicolaus Adam Strungk: Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ Maria Zedelius, soprano (11:09) on ''De Profundis - German Baroque cantatas'' with

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...

: Erbarm dich mein.

Franz Tunder Franz Tunder (1614 – November 5, 1667) was a German composer and organist of the early to middle Baroque era. He was an important link between the early German Baroque style which was based on Venetian models, and the later Baroque style ...

: An Wasserflüssen Babylon; Ach Herr, lass deine lieben Engelein.

Nicolaus Bruhns Nicolaus Bruhns (also ''Nikolaus'', ''Nicholas''; late 1665 – in Husum) was a Danish-German organist, violinist, and composer. He was one of the most prominent organists and composers of his generation. Biography Bruhns was born in Schwabst ...

: De profundis clamavi.

Matthias Weckmann Matthias Weckmann (''Weckman'') (''c''.1616 24 February 1674) was a German musician and composer of the Baroque period. He was born in Niederdorla (Thuringia) and died in Hamburg. Life His musical training took place in Dresden (as a chorister ...

: Wie liegt die Stadt so wüste. Michael Schopper,

Musica Antiqua Köln Musica Antiqua Köln was an early music group that was founded in 1973 by Reinhard Goebel and fellow students from the Conservatory of Music in Cologne. Musica Antiqua Köln devoted itself largely to the performance of the music of the 17th and 18t ...

dir.

Reinhard Goebel Reinhard Goebel (; born 31 July 1952 in Siegen, West Germany) is a German conductor and violinist specialising in early music on authentic instruments and professor for historical performance at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Goebel received his fi ...

.1985 * Nicolaus Adam Strungk: Complete organ works (plus works by Delphin Strunck, Christian Flor, Dietrich Meyer, Johann Decker, Marcus Olter)

Friedhelm Flamme Friedhelm Flamme (born 1963) is a German organist, choral director, musicologist, music educator. Life and achievements Born in Volkmarsen, Flamme who has been associated with church music since his youth, was already active as an organist w ...

. 2010 / 2013CPO 777 597-2 (2 Hybrid SACDs)

Notes

References

*, "Nicolaus Adam Strunck and others" {{DEFAULTSORT:Strungk, Nicolaus Adam 1640 births 1700 deaths Musicians from Braunschweig People from Brunswick-Lüneburg German Baroque composers Organists and composers in the North German tradition German male organists University of Helmstedt alumni 17th-century classical composers German male classical composers 17th-century male musicians Male classical organists