Christoph Gottlieb Schröter (10 August 169920 May 1782), was a German composer and organist, who is best known for his contributions to the

tangent piano The tangent piano is a very rare keyboard instrument that resembles a harpsichord and early pianos in design. It normally features five octaves of keys and the strings are acted upon by narrow wooden or metal slips when the keys are depressed. ...

, which in 1717 he invented a keyboard instrument whose strings were not plucked, but struck by hammers.

Biography

Born in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Schröter showed his musical ability as a

choirboy A choirboy is a boy member of a choir, also known as a treble. As a derisive slang term, it refers to a do-gooder or someone who is morally upright, in the same sense that "Boy Scout" (also derisively) refers to someone who is considered honor ...

in the Staatskapelle Dresden, becoming a student of Johann Christoph Schmidt. In 1717, at the age of 18, he went to the Kreuzschule in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

and studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. While studying, his mother died, to which he went back to the Staatskapelle to study music and was recommended as a

amanuensis An amanuensis ( ) ( ) or scribe is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. It may also be a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In some aca ...

to composer

Antonio Lotti Antonio Lotti (5 January 1667 – 5 January 1740) was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. Biography Lotti was born in Venice, although his father Matteo was ''Kapellmeister'' at Hanover at the time. Oral tradition says that in 1682, Lotti be ...

, which to him was a great honour. Schröter was later employed as a secretary and musical associate to an unknown man, who he would travel with throughout Germany, Netherlands and England. Schröter would later in 1724 settle in

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

where he would teach open lectures about music theory at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

. In 1726, he became an

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 ...

at the St. Martini Church in

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

, he was called "one of the bravest organists of our time" by

Ernst Ludwig Gerber Ernst Ludwig Gerber (29 September 1746 in Sondershausen, Germany – 30 June 1819 in Sondershausen) was a German composer, organist, cellist, and author of a famous dictionary of musicians. His father, Heinrich Nikolaus Gerber (1702–1775), a ...

. He would reside in Minden until 1732 when he traveled to

Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to: *Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany ** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district ** Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city *Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen) * Narost, ...

, where he would continue being an Organist at the St. Nikolai Church until his death in 1782.

Literature

* Deutliche Anweisung zum Generalbaß (1772) * Lezte Beschäftigung mit musicalischen Dingen (1782)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schröter, Christoph Gottlieb 1699 births 1782 deaths German Baroque composers German Classical-period composers German organists People educated at the Kreuzschule