Johann Vesque von Püttlingen (pseudonym Johann Hoven) (23 July 1803 – 29 October 1883), born J. Vesque de Puttelange, was an Austrian lawyer, diplomat, author, composer and singer. His full name and title in German was Johann Vesque, Freiherr von Püttlingen.

Early life

He was born in the Lubomirski Palace (pl:''Pałac Lubomirskich'') in

Opole Lubelskie Opole Lubelskie is a town in eastern Poland. As of 2004, it had 8,879 inhabitants. The town is situated in Lublin Voivodeship, some 10 kilometers east of the Vistula River, and is the capital of Opole Lubelskie County. It was founded in the 14th ...

(at the time located in West Galicia, a province of the Holy Roman Empire in eastern Poland, now in Lublin Voivodship). ;Background His father, Jean Vesque de Puttelange, born in Brussels, was a state official (civil servant) in Brussels, at the time in the Duchy of Brabant, a region of the Austrian Netherlands, themselves part of the Holy Roman Empire. Jean Vesque had to leave in a hurry after the French invasion of the Low Countries in 1793, but found himself banned (with the other Belgian officials of the late Brussels administration) from Vienna, where there were enough civil servants already; having rejected a French offer of citizenship of the new greater France - now including southern Belgium and Luxembourg - his estates were confiscated and he found himself stateless. image:Opole lubelskie pałac barokowy.jpg, left, His birthplace, Lubomirski Palace in

, designed c.1770 by ''inter alia, i.a.'' Domenico Merlini After many years of wandering in Europe, often on foot, Jean Vesque obtained a position c1801 at the palace of Prince Aleksander Lubomirski (1751–1804), Alexander Lubomirsky in

, where he worked as librarian and tutor to his daughter Alexandra Francis Rzewuska, Alexandra Francis Lubomirska, and where his son, also Johann Vesque (later von Püttlingen), was born in 1803. West Galicia had recently come under

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

control after the Third Partition of Poland in 1795. The ban on Austro-Belgian officials settling in Vienna was lifted the following year, 1804, and the family moved to Vienna. The subsequent life of the infant Johann Vesque divides into two intertwining careers, that of a government official, and that of a composer.

Civil service career

After schooling - including some musical training - he entered the University of Vienna in 1822 to study law, gaining his

LLD Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation#Plural forms, abbrev ...

(''Dr. jur.'') with honours in 1827. He then became a civil servant, entering the Lower Austrian legal service (or magistracy) as an 'Auscultant' or probationer (''Anwärter'' auf das Richteramt), rising to become chief administrative officer of Salzburg by 1872. He moved to the Austrian diplomatic service, making his way to head of section in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

, and in 1866 he was elevated to the

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

(''Freiherrenstand''). In 1876 he became a

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

of the Imperial Council. He was one of Austria's leading lawyers and was also active as a writer in this field: among other things he published a ground-breaking work on "The rights of the musical author" (1864); a description of the law relating to foreign citizens in Austria; and a review of Austria's agreements with foreign states.

Musical career

Aged 13, he had started piano lessons with :de:Maximilian Josef Leidesdorf, a well-known pianist who was a friend (and publisher) of Schubert and Beethoven. He studied composition with Eduard von Lannoy, who came from Brussels like Johann's father, Jean Vesque; he got to know Schubert in 1827-8, and through him had singing lessons with the renowned baritone Johann Vogl. The critic

Eduard Hanslick Eduard Hanslick (11 September 18256 August 1904) was an Austrian music critic, aesthetician and historian. Among the leading critics of his time, he was the chief music critic of the ''Neue Freie Presse'' from 1864 until the end of his life. H ...

described his well-trained tenor voice: "The witty, lightly emphasised, almost French 'breathy' tone, which Vesque - especially in his recital of his humoristic ''lieder'' - was aware of putting on, was quite unique."„Der geistreiche, leicht pointierende, fast französisch angehauchte Ton, den Vesque in den Vortrag namentlich seiner humoristischen Lieder zu legen wusste, war ganz einzig". Starting in 1828, he published a number of his own compositions under the name 'J. Hoven', or later 'Johann van Hoven'. many of which - like the rest of his oeuvre - were contributions to the

lyric Lyric may refer to: * Lyrics, the words, often in verse form, which are sung, usually to a melody, and constitute the semantic content of a song * Lyric poetry is a form of poetry that expresses a subjective, personal point of view * Lyric, from ...

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production i ...

repertoire; over 100 of his songs were settings of

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...

. In total he composed over 330

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

er, notably the ''Ironischen Lieder''; six operas, including ''Turandot'' (1838) and ''Jeanne d'Arc'' (1840); and about twenty

quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

s, in both sacred and secular settings. Among his contacts were numbered Robert and Clara Schumann,

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

, Carl Loewe,

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...

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 sy ...

and

Otto Nicolai Carl Otto Ehrenfried Nicolai (9 June 1810 – 11 May 1849) was a German composer, conductor, and one of the founders of the Vienna Philharmonic. Nicolai is best known for his operatic version of Shakespeare's comedy ''The Merry Wives of Wi ...

. Four of his six operas were successfully produced at the Kärntnertortheater: ''Turandot'' 1838, ''Johanna d’Arc'' 1840, ''Liebeszauber'' 1845, ''Ein Abenteuer Carl des Zweiten'' 1850. He helped to reconstruct the threatened Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, and was its vice-president 1851/52, while continuing on the building of the Conservatory of the GdM, whose director he was. He organised performances of

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 music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

's oratorios in Vienna, and directed the musical festivals in the Royal winter Spanish Riding School. He was a member of the Royal Commission for the World Fair 1873, and also collected autographs. He died in Vienna.

Works

According to Grove, his published compositions reach to Opus no. 58. *Complete list of works ;Operas * '' Turandot'', 2 acts (1838). **Overture, arr. piano 4 hands **Vocal score arr. composer, .de & .it text * ''Joan of Arc'', 3 acts (1840). Performed in Dresden in 1845, with Johanna Wagner in the title part. Vocal score by Diabelli * ''Liebeszauber'' 4 acts (1845). * ''Catherine de Heilbronn'' (1847) * ''Burg Thaya'', 3 acts (1847) ('Thaya Castle'). Apparently not performed. * ''Ein Abenteuer Carl des Zweiten'', 1 act (1850) ('An adventure of Carl II'). * ''Der lustiger Rath'', 2 acts (1852). Produced at Weimar by

. * ''Lips Tullian'', 1 act. Not performed. Operettas reviewed by Hanslick, 15 Jan 1850 ;Choral works * Mass in D (1846), for soloists, chorus and orchestra, performed at the Vienna Hofkapelle * A second Mass. ;Piano (and violin) * Six Cotillons, op. 1, pour le pianoforte * Twelve Ländler, op. 2, for piano * Cotillons et galopade, op. 3, piano 4 hands * Cotillons et galopade, op. 4, arr. for violin and piano * ''Flüchtiger Lust''. Walzer und Galoppe fur pianoforte, op. 5 ;Vocal works * c.300 songs for voice and piano, including **''Die Heimkehr''. Acht und achtzig Gedichte aus Heinrich Heine's Reisebildern in Musik gesetzt von J. Hoven" (Vesque). Wien, aus der konlig. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1851 (''Die Heimkehr'': 88 poems from

's 'Travel Pictures') **45 Songs __ *Balladen, Romanzen und Lieder. 3 Hefte, opp. 6, 7 & 8 ** op. 6. - 2 songs #1. ''Ritter Toggenburg'' ('Toggenburg the knight'), text by

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

. #2. ''Die Eisersucht'' ** op. 7 - 3 songs ** op. 8 - 6 songs, texts by Salis & Heine *Drei Gedichte, op. 9, from Heine's ''Reisebildern'' *Three songs by Zerboni di Sposetti, op. 10 *Die zwölfte Stunde, op. 11, poems by Heine * ''Der Doktor und der Patient'', Op. 13, comic duet for two bass voices and piano (ed. Martin Wiener) *Liebesleiden, op. 21, poems of Heine *Abendbilder, op. 22, from Heine's ''Reisebildern'' *"Standchen" von Koerner (Serenata), 0p. 24 *Wie der Mond sich leuchtend dränget, op. 27 *"Liebsvoll" *Sonntag auf dem Meere, 30. Werk (L. A. Frankl) 12 songs for voice & piano, 2 books No. 9 - Goethe Dämmerung *Vier Lieder by Heinrich Heine, op. 36 *Humoristica from Heine's poems, op. 38 *Six Heine poems, op. 39 *Fünf neue Gedichte von Heinrich Heine, op. 40 *Ironische Lieder von H. Heine op. 41 *Sei ''ariette'' dedicate a Mad. Albina Maray, op. 42 *Six songs for alto voice and piano, op. 43 *Songs, op. 44 *7 Gedichte aus dem "neuen Fruhling" von Heine, op. 45 *Six poems from 'New Spring' by Heine, op. 46 *Sechs Gedichte von Chamisso, op. 47 (2 Hefte) *Three songs, op. 48 *Six songs, op. 49 *Three songs, op. 51 *Six songs, opp, 52, 54, 55, 56 *''Lieder frommer Stimmung'', op. 57 __ *''Liebesrauch'', von J. Hoven (Curci, C. "L'estasi di amore" di G. Perruzzini) *"Der Sängerskampf", komische Ballade, text von August Schmidt (1843) __ *Jagers Qual (von Seidl), for tenor, horn and piano ;Vocal ensemble: * Vocal quartets, op. 20 for male quartetNeue Zeitschrift für Musik, Volume 19, 1848
p. 111

References

;Notes ;Citations ;Sources * * * Hanslick, Eduard. (1869) ''Geschicte des Concertwesens in Wien, 1'' (in German) * * * Online copy a

both retrieved 27 October 2015. * * *

External links

* (In German) *
Brief biography under "Bientôt le Printemps musical en pays mosellan du 11 au 24 mars 2007"
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vesque Von Puttlingen, Johann 1803 births 1883 deaths People from Opole Lubelskie County Austrian Romantic composers Austrian opera composers Male opera composers Barons of Austria 19th-century classical composers Austrian male classical composers 19th-century male musicians