Abbé Georg Joseph Vogler
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Georg Joseph Vogler, also known as Abbé Vogler (15 June 1749 – 6 May 1814), was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
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 def ...
,
organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
,
teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...
and
theorist A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...
. In a long and colorful career extending over many more nations and decades than was usual at the time, Vogler established himself as a foremost experimenter in baroque and early classic music. His greatest successes came as performer and designer for the
organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...
at various courts and cities around Europe, as well as a teacher, attracting highly successful and devoted pupils such as
Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...
. His career as a music theorist and composer however was mixed, with contemporaries such as
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
believing Vogler to have been a
charlatan A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through pretense or deception. One example of a charlatan appears in t ...
. Despite his mixed reception in his own life, his highly original contributions in many areas of music (particularly musicology and organ theory) and influence on his pupils endured, and combined with his eccentric and adventurous career, prompted one historian to summarize Vogler as "one of the most bizarre characters in the history of music".


Biography

Vogler was born at Pleichach in
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...
. His father Jared Vogler was a
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
maker and instrument-maker for the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg. The young Vogler studied law and theology in Würzburg and
Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...
, however he had possessed a prodigious talent and interest in music from childhood and continued to pursue that interest as a university student. In the late 1760s he was introduced to the Elector Palatine Karl Theodor, receiving appointment as the latter's
almoner An almoner () is a chaplain or church officer who originally was in charge of distributing money to the deserving poor. The title ''almoner'' has to some extent fallen out of use in English, but its equivalents in other languages are often used f ...
at the court in
Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...
in 1770. Vogler became active in composing and performance there, and in 1771 his first major theatrical piece ''Singspiel – Der Kaufmann von Smyrna'' was performed for the court. In 1773 he was sponsored by the court to study under the Padre Martini in
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
. Dissatisfied with the method of that learned theorist, he studied for five months under
Francesco Antonio Vallotti Francesco Antonio Vallotti (11 June 1697 – 10 January 1780) was an Italian composer, music theorist, and organist. Life He was born in Vercelli. He studied with G. A. Bissone at the church of St. Eusebius. Noticed by the Padre Beccaria of ...
at
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, and met
Johann Adolph 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 ...
in
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. He afterwards proceeded to
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, where, having been ordained priest, he was admitted to the famous Academy of Arcadia, made a knight of the Golden Spur, and appointed protonotary and chamberlain to the
pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
. On his return to Mannheim in 1775, Vogler was appointed court chaplain and second ''maestro di cappella''. From this position he was able to found a school to educate both amateur and aspiring musicians. His pupils were devoted to him, but he made innumerable enemies, for the principles upon which he taught were opposed to those of all other teachers. Two major musicological contributions followed: ''Tonwissenschaft und Tonsetzkunst'' on the theory of
harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...
, and ''Stimmbildungskunst'' on voice training. He also invented a new system of fingering for the
harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...
, a new form of construction for the organ, and from 1778 to 1781 edited the ''Betrachtungen der Mannheimer Tonschule'' – a periodical providing analysis of new compositions and essays on music. Mozart condemned the fingering as "miserable", the young composer finding little musical success in Mannheim now musically dominated by Vogler. The proposed change in the construction of the organ consisted of simplifying the mechanism, introducing free-reeds in place of ordinary reed-stops, and substituting unisonous stops for the great "mixtures" then in vogue. Vogler's writings on musical theory, though professedly based upon Vallotti's principles, were to a great extent empirical. Nevertheless, in virtue of a certain substratum of truth which seems to have underlain his new theories, Vogler undoubtedly exercised a powerful influence over the progress of musical science, and numbered among his disciples some of the greatest geniuses of the period. left, M. Welte (1895)">Welte-Mignon.html" ;"title="Orchestrion built by Welte-Mignon">M. Welte (1895) In 1778 Karl Theodor moved his court to Munich. Vogler temporarily remained in Mannheim before following him there in 1780, but, dissatisfied with the reception accorded to his dramatic compositions, soon quit his post. He went to Paris, where after much hostility his new system was recognized as a continuation of that started by
Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; ; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of ...
. His organ concerts in the church of St. Sulpice attracted considerable attention. At the request of the royal court, he composed the opera ''Le Patriotism'', which was performed at
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
. Other works, including ''Eglė'' and ''La Kermesse, ou La Foire flamande'', did not attract widespread critical acclaim however. Rather more successful were his tone paintings, performed in his capacity as an organ virtuoso, and Vogler played to packed houses around Europe in 1780s, although critical opinions remained mixed. In 1786 he was appointed ''
Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (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 has evolved considerably in i ...
'' by
Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he s ...
and founded his second music school in
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. His major composition of this period was ''Gustav Adolf och Ebba Brahe'', as well as the ''Pieces de Clavecin'' and a series of organ studies and didactic works on musical theory. He attained extraordinary celebrity by his performances on an instrument called the "
orchestrion Orchestrion is a generic name for a machine that plays music and is designed to sound like an orchestra or band. Orchestrions may be operated by means of a large pinned cylinder or by a music roll and less commonly book music. The sound is ...
", a species of organ invented by himself. As a member of the Swedish court he visited
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in 1788 where he met the
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
organ builder Kirsnick (one of the first known to use free reeds in organ pipes). Starting in 1790 Vogler changed all the organs he performed on by adding new registers with free reeds. The first organ that was changed was in Rotterdam, and as many as 30 known rebuilds of organs followed. In 1790 he brought this instrument to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and performed upon it with great effect at the Pantheon, for the concert-room where he also constructed an organ upon his own principles. The abbé's pedal-playing excited great attention. His most popular pieces were a
fugue In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...
on themes from the ''
Hallelujah Chorus ''Messiah'' ( HWV 56), the English-language oratorio composed by George Frideric Handel in 1741, is structured in three parts. This listing covers Part II in a table and comments on individual movements, reflecting the relation of the musical se ...
'', composed after a visit to the
Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
festival at
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, and ''A Musical Picture for the Organ'', by Knecht, containing the imitation of a storm. In 1792 his royal patron was assassinated, and he embarked upon a series of ambitious travels extended over
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,
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,
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, remote districts of
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and
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, and even
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, in search of uncorrupted forms of national melody and the existing traces of ancient musical practices on which Western music was founded. These travels also supplied new exotic themes and folk music traditions that found their way into his later compositions. He returned to
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
and remained in residence there until 1799, before once more establishing himself in Germany, where his compositions, both sacred and dramatic, received at last full credit. He also wrote ''Choral-System'' in 1800 as a result of his new theory on choral accompaniment. He spent time in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
from 1802 to 1804, making the acquaintances of
Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
and
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
. His operas ''Castore e Polluce'' and ''Samori'' received popular acclaim there and he was to gain two ardent disciples –
Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...
and
Johann Baptist Gänsbacher Johann Baptist Gänsbacher (8 May 1778 in Sterzing – 13 July 1844 in Vienna), Austrian musical composer, was born in 1778 in Sterzing in the County of Tyrol. His father, a schoolmaster and teacher of music, undertook his son's early education, ...
. Under his tutelage, both would become well known composers in their own right. After Vienna, Vogler continued to travel around Germany. While at
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
in 1807 he received an invitation from Ludwig I,
grand duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...
of
Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt () was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse among the four sons of Landgrave Philip I. ...
, offering him the appointment of ''Kapellmeister'', with the order of merit, the title of privy councillor, a salary of 3000
florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...
s, a house, a table supplied from the duke's own kitchen, and other privileges, which determined him to bring his wanderings at last to a close. At
Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...
he opened his third and most famous music school, the chief ornaments of which were Gänsbacher, Weber, and
Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart and Richard Wa ...
. One of Vogler's last journeys was to Frankfurt in 1810, to witness the production of Weber's '' Sylvana''. He continued to work hard in music and organ building in old age, and died suddenly of
apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...
at Darmstadt on 6 May 1814.


Works

*'' Gustav Adolf och Ebba Brahe'', Swedish opera


See also

*
Roman numeral analysis In music theory, Roman numeral analysis is a type of Harmony, harmonic analysis in which chord (music), chords are represented by Roman numerals, which encode the chord's Degree (music), degree and Function_(music), harmonic function within a given ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vogler, Georg Joseph 1749 births 1814 deaths Musicians from Würzburg People from the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg German opera composers German male opera composers German Classical-period composers German classical organists German music theorists 18th-century German keyboardists 19th-century German male musicians German male classical organists