Louise Reichardt or Luise Reichardt (11 April 1779 – 17 November 1826) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

composer and

choral conductor Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties ...

. Her German songs or

Lieder 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 sp ...

, written in an accessible style akin to

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

, were popular, and she was influential in the musical life of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany, where she lived from 1809.

Biography

Early life

She was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. She was the daughter of composers

Juliane Reichardt Juliane Reichardt, née Benda (14 May 1752 – 9 or 11 May 1783), was a Bohemian pianist, singer and composer. Biography Reichardt was born in Potsdam, the youngest of the six children of violinist and composer Franz Benda (1709–1786), who was ...

(1752–1783) and

Johann Friedrich Reichardt Johann Friedrich Reichardt (25 November 1752 – 27 June 1814) was a German composer, writer and music critic. Early life Reichardt was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, to lutenist and ''Stadtmusiker'' Johann Reichardt (1720–1780). Johann Fr ...

(1752–1814) and granddaughter of

Franz Benda Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

(1709–1786). Her grandfather and father were respectively

Konzertmeister The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

and

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (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 ha ...

at the court of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

. After Juliane Reichardt died, the family moved from Berlin to

Giebichenstein The Giebichenstein in Stöckse, Germany, is one of the largest erratic boulders of northern Germany. It is in a city called Landkreis Nienburg/Weser. It weighs around 330 tons. A picture of the Giebichenstein is part of the emblem of the Stöck ...

near Halle. Louise Reichardt took music lessons from her father, and in 1800 four of her songs were published in a collection of his songs. The Reichardts entertained literary figures such as

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

Ludwig Tieck Johann Ludwig Tieck (; ; 31 May 177328 April 1853) was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early life Tieck was born in Be ...

Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (), was a German polymath who was a writer, philosopher, poet, aristocrat and mystic. He is regarded as an idiosyncratic and influential figure of ...

Clemens Brentano Clemens Wenzeslaus Brentano (also Klemens; pseudonym: Clemens Maria Brentano ; ; 9 September 1778 – 28 July 1842) was a German poet and novelist, and a major figure of German Romanticism. He was the uncle, via his brother Christian, of Franz a ...

, and Phillip Ludwig Achim von Arnim. Later, she would use von Arnim's poetry in a collection of twelve songs.

Hamburg

In 1809 she moved to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

where she studied with Johann Frederich Clasing. She taught music, instructed choruses, and composed. She did not rely on royalty or wealthy patrons to hear her music. During her time in Hamburg, from 1809 until 1826, she composed the majority of her

. She reached the public by writing in an easily accessible, folksy style, combining memorable melodies with simple piano accompaniments. Reichardt was also active as a choral conductor and established a ''Gesangverein'' choral society in Hamburg. However, due to the prevailing

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...

of the times, she was never allowed to conduct them in public. "Despite these gender restrictions, Reichardt strongly influenced musical life in Hamburg through her composing, teaching, and behind-the-scenes conducting." She also translated the Latin works of Hasse and Graun into German.

Personal life

Reichardt’s husband to be, the writer , suddenly died before their wedding. Her second husband to be, the painter

Franz Gareis Johann Franz Peter Paul Gareis (28 June 1775, Ostritz - 31 May 1803, Rome) was a German portrait painter and illustrator.Wolf Stadler, ''Lexikon der Kunst 5. Gal – Herr.'' Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1994, , pg.12. Life and work At the ag ...

, also died before their wedding.

Works

Selected works include: *''Giusto Amor'' *''Notturno'' *''Vanne felice rio'' (Metastasio) (1806) *''Bergmannslied'' (Novalis) *''Heimweh'' (attributed to Wetzel) *''Die Blume der Blumen'' (Runge) *''Duettino'' (1802) (Brentano) (two tenors) *''From Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Hier liegt ein Spielmann begraben'' *''Betteley der Vögel''

References

External links

Luise Reichardt: Unruhiger Schlaf from YouTube
*
Free digital scores by Louise Reichardt
in th
OpenScore Lieder Corpus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reichardt, Louise 1779 births 1826 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century German composers German classical composers German women classical composers German music educators Women music educators 19th-century women composers