Johann Balthasar König (baptised 28 January 1691 – buried 2 April 1758) was a German
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
composer, especially of hymn melodies, having published a hymnal with 1,913 melodies. He was the church musician at Frankfurt's main Protestant church, the
Katharinenkirche, and the town's
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 ...
. He was also closely associated with
Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history, at least in terms of surviving works. Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to b ...
.
Early life and career
Born in
Waltershausen
Waltershausen is a town in the south-western part of the district of Gotha in the state of Thuringia, Germany.
Geography
Geographic location
Located on the verge of the Thuringian Basin just before the Thuringian Forest, Waltershausen is so ...
, König was a son of Johann Jakob König. He was in Frankfurt a chorister of the
municipal gymnasium.
He joined the municipal chapel when
Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history, at least in terms of surviving works. Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to b ...
was its director.
König was appointed director of the chapel at the
Katharinenkirche. He was promoted to municipal
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 ...
(director of music) in 1727, succeeding Johann Christoph Bodinus (1690–1727).
König composed several hymns, cantatas and operas. His most important work is the 1738 collection ''Harmonischer Liederschatz'', with 1,913 melodies, of which 358 were not published before.
The full title reads:
Three of his hymns are part of the current Protestant hymnal ''
Evangelisches Gesangbuch
''Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' (''EG''; , "Protestantism, Protestant song book") is the current hymnal of German-language congregations in Germany, Alsace and Lorraine, Austria, and Luxembourg, which was introduced from 1993 and 1996, succeeding ...
'', "O daß ich tausend Zungen hätte" (EG 330), "" to lyrics by (EG 354), and "
Ich will dich lieben, meine Stärke" (EG 400).
, who analyzed the melody for ''Liederkunde zum Evangelischen Gesangbuch'' which supplies scholarly background information of songs in the EG, summarized that it follows the "emotional elements" of the text well by a focus on expansion at the beginning, and on concentration at the beginning of the ''
abgesang
Bar form (German: ''die Barform'' or ''der Bar'') is a musical form of the pattern AAB.
Original use
The term comes from the rigorous terminology of the Meistersinger guilds of the 15th to 18th century who used it to refer to their songs and the ...
'', is well structured and offers some
word painting
Word painting, also known as tone painting or text painting, is the musical technique of composing music that reflects the literal meaning of a song's lyrics or story elements in programmatic music.
Historical development
Tone painting of word ...
.
Personal life
König married Anna Maria Pfaff, the daughter of a tailor, in 1717. Telemann became the godfather of their son Georg Philipp, born in 1718.
References
Sources
*
*
Further reading
* Peter Cahn: ''Kirchenmusik an St. Katharinen''. In: Joachim Proescholdt (ed.): ''St. Katharinen zu Frankfurt am Main''. Verlag Waldemar Kramer, Frankfurt am Main, 1981.
External links
*
"Johann Balthasar König (Composer)" Bach Cantatas website 2006
Johann "Balthasar König" hymnary.org
"Harmonischer Lieder-Schatz" reader.digitale-sammlungen.de
"Johann Balthasar König / Komponist, Musikdirektor" Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konig, Johann Balthasar
German Baroque composers
People from Waltershausen
1691 births
1758 deaths
Music directors