Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Encyclopedia
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (c.1620–23 – between 29 February and 20 March 1680) was an Austria
n composer
and violin
ist of the Baroque
era. Almost nothing is known about his early years, but he seems to have arrived in Vienna
during the 1630s, and remained composer and musician at the Habsburg court for the rest of his life. He enjoyed a close relationship with Emperor Leopold I
, was ennobled by him, and rose to the rank of Kapellmeister
in 1679. He died during a plague epidemic only months after getting the position.
Schmelzer was one the most important violinists of the period, and an important influence on later German and Austrian composers for violin. He made substantial contributions to the development of violin technique and promoted the use and development of sonata and suite forms in Austria and South Germany. He was the leading Austrian composer of his generation, and an influence on Heinrich Ignaz Biber
.
Schmelzer was born in Scheibbs
, Lower Austria
. Nothing is known about his early years, and most of the surviving information about his background was recounted by the composer himself in his petition for ennoblement of 1673. He described his father as a soldier, but in another document, the 1645 marriage certificate of Schmelzer's sister Eva Rosina, he is listed as a baker. Schmelzer does not mention his father's name, but Eva Rosina's marriage certificate does: Daniel Schmelzer. At any rate, it remains unclear where and from whom Schmelzer received primary music education. His activities before 1643 are similarly unknown–the composer is first mentioned in a document dated 28 June 1643, relating to his first marriage. He is referred to as a cornett
ist at St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom), Vienna
. The date of his arrival to Vienna is unknown, but he probably worked at the court chapel in late 1630s, in the employ of Ferdinand II
and, after 1637, Ferdinand III
. Schmelzer's colleagues at the chapel included such distinguished composers as Johann Jakob Froberger
, Giovanni Valentini
, and Antonio Bertali
.
Schmelzer was officially appointed court violinist in 1649. Our knowledge of his position, duties, and activities is incomplete. He apparently rose to prominence as a violin virtuoso, as well as a composer, and enjoyed a close relationship with Emperor Leopold I
, who was a well-known patron of the arts and a composer himself. Schmelzer started publishing his music in 1659. He was appointed vice-Kapellmeister
on 13 April 1671. On 14 June 1673, after the composer petitioned for ennoblement, the Emperor raised Schmelzer to the ranks of nobility; Schmelzer now added von Ehrenruef to his name. Eventually, after his predecessor Giovanni Felice Sances had died, Schmelzer became Kapellmeister, on 1 October 1679. Unfortunately, he fell victim of the plague early in 1680, and died in Prague
, where the Viennese court moved in an attempt to evade the epidemic.
Schmelzer was the foremost Austrian composer of instrumental music of his day, and had an important influence on the Austrian violinist and composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644-1704), who is believed to have been one of Schmelzer's students.
- Cum Invocarem
- In te Domine
- Qui habitat in adjutorio
- Ecce nunc benedicite
- Te lucis ante terminum
- Nunc dimittis
- Dixit Dominus
- Laudate pueri
- Laetatus sum
- Nisi Dominus
- Lauda Jerusalem
- Credidi
- In convertendo
- Domine probabasti me
- Magnificat
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist of the Baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
era. Almost nothing is known about his early years, but he seems to have arrived in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
during the 1630s, and remained composer and musician at the Habsburg court for the rest of his life. He enjoyed a close relationship with Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
, was ennobled by him, and rose to the rank of Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
in 1679. He died during a plague epidemic only months after getting the position.
Schmelzer was one the most important violinists of the period, and an important influence on later German and Austrian composers for violin. He made substantial contributions to the development of violin technique and promoted the use and development of sonata and suite forms in Austria and South Germany. He was the leading Austrian composer of his generation, and an influence on Heinrich Ignaz Biber
Heinrich Ignaz Biber
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber von Bibern was a Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist. Born in the small Bohemian town of Wartenberg , Biber worked at Graz and Kroměříž before he illegally left his Kroměříž employer and settled in Salzburg...
.
Biography
Scheibbs
Scheibbs is a town in Austria. It is in the Scheibbs district of Lower Austria.Scheibbs is the birthplace of West Bromwich Albion football player Paul Scharner....
, Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
. Nothing is known about his early years, and most of the surviving information about his background was recounted by the composer himself in his petition for ennoblement of 1673. He described his father as a soldier, but in another document, the 1645 marriage certificate of Schmelzer's sister Eva Rosina, he is listed as a baker. Schmelzer does not mention his father's name, but Eva Rosina's marriage certificate does: Daniel Schmelzer. At any rate, it remains unclear where and from whom Schmelzer received primary music education. His activities before 1643 are similarly unknown–the composer is first mentioned in a document dated 28 June 1643, relating to his first marriage. He is referred to as a cornett
Cornett
The cornett, cornetto or zink is an early wind instrument, dating from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. It was used in what are now called alta capellas or wind ensembles. It is not to be confused with the trumpet-like instrument cornet.-Construction:There are three basic types of...
ist at St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom), Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. The date of his arrival to Vienna is unknown, but he probably worked at the court chapel in late 1630s, in the employ of Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
and, after 1637, Ferdinand III
Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand III was Holy Roman Emperor from 15 February 1637 until his death, as well as King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria.-Life:...
. Schmelzer's colleagues at the chapel included such distinguished composers as Johann Jakob Froberger
Johann Jakob Froberger
Johann Jakob Froberger was a German Baroque composer, keyboard virtuoso, and organist. He was among the most famous composers of the era and influenced practically every major composer in Europe by developing the genre of keyboard suite and contributing greatly to the exchange of musical...
, Giovanni Valentini
Giovanni Valentini
Giovanni Valentini was an Italian Baroque composer, poet and keyboard virtuoso. Overshadowed by his contemporaries, Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schütz, Valentini is practically forgotten today, although he occupied one of the most prestigious musical posts of his time...
, and Antonio Bertali
Antonio Bertali
Antonio Bertali was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era.He was born in Verona and received early music education there from Stefano Bernardi. Probably from 1624, he was employed as court musician in Vienna by Emperor Ferdinand II. In 1649 Bertali succeeded Giovanni Valentini as...
.
Schmelzer was officially appointed court violinist in 1649. Our knowledge of his position, duties, and activities is incomplete. He apparently rose to prominence as a violin virtuoso, as well as a composer, and enjoyed a close relationship with Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
, who was a well-known patron of the arts and a composer himself. Schmelzer started publishing his music in 1659. He was appointed vice-Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
on 13 April 1671. On 14 June 1673, after the composer petitioned for ennoblement, the Emperor raised Schmelzer to the ranks of nobility; Schmelzer now added von Ehrenruef to his name. Eventually, after his predecessor Giovanni Felice Sances had died, Schmelzer became Kapellmeister, on 1 October 1679. Unfortunately, he fell victim of the plague early in 1680, and died in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, where the Viennese court moved in an attempt to evade the epidemic.
Music
Schmelzer attained a high reputation in a field (violin playing and violin composition) which at the time was dominated by Italians; indeed, one traveler referred to him in 1660 as "nearly the most eminent violinist in all of Europe". Schmelzer's Sonatae unarum fidium of 1664 was the first collection of sonatas for violin and basso continuo to be published by a German-speaking composer. It contains the brilliant virtuosity, sectional structure, and lengthy ground-bass variations typical of the mid-baroque violin sonata.Schmelzer was the foremost Austrian composer of instrumental music of his day, and had an important influence on the Austrian violinist and composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644-1704), who is believed to have been one of Schmelzer's students.
Selected works
- Lamento sopra la morte di Ferdinando III, 1657
- Duodena selactarum sonatarum, 1659
- Sacroprofanus Concentus, 1662
- Sonatae unarum fidium seu a violino solo, 1664
- Die musikalische Fechtschul, 1668
- 150 suites, vocal works, and Christian musicChristian musicChristian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
Sacred music
- Ad cocentus o mortales ad triumphos - SSATTB, 2 vln, 3 vla, 2 corn, 2 clar, 4 trbn, vlne, bc
- Compieta - SATB, 2 vln, vc, corn, 2 trbn, vlne, bsn, bc:
- Cum Invocarem
- In te Domine
- Qui habitat in adjutorio
- Ecce nunc benedicite
- Te lucis ante terminum
- Nunc dimittis
- Currite, accurrite, caeli et terra - SATB, 2 vln, 3 vla, vlne, bc
- Die Stärke der Liebe (Sepolcro)- SSATT, 2 vln, bc
- Hodie lux tua, sancti fulgebit - SATB, 2 vln, 3 vla, vlne, bc
- Inquietum est cor meum - SATB, 2 vln, 2 vla, vlne, bc
- Le memorie dolorose - SSATTTBB, 2 vln, 4 vla, 2 gamba, bc
- Missa Dei patris benedicte - SSAATTBB, 5 vla, 2 clar, 3 trbn, vlne, bc
- Missa Jesu crusifixi - SSAATTBB, 2 vln, 4 vla, 2 clar, vlne, bc
- Missa Mater purissima - SATB, 3 vla, corn, 3 trbn, vlne, bc
- Missa Natalis (Kyrie & Gloria) - SSATTB, 2 vln, 2 vla, 2 clar, 4 trbn, vlne, bc
- Missa Peregrina in honorem Sancti Rochi - SATB, 3 vla, 2 corn, 3 trbn, vlne, bc
- Missa pro defunctis (Kyrie, Sanctus & Agnus) - SATB, 3 vla, bc
- Missa Sancti Joannis - SATB, 2 vln, 2 vla, 3 trbn, vlne, bc
- Missa Sancti Spiritus - SSATTB, 2 vln, 2 vla, 2 corn, 2 clar, 4 trbn, bc
- Missa Sancti Stanislai - SATB, 2 vln, 3 vla, bc
- Missa Tarde venientium in honorem Sancti Wenceslai - SATB, 2 vln, corn/trbn, vlne, bc
- Nos autem gloriari - SATB, 3 vla, vc, vlne, bc
- O Jesu summa charitas - SATB, 2 vln, 2 vla, theorbo, bc
- Sileat misericordiam tuam, o bone Jesu - SATB, vln, 3 vla, vlne, bc
- Terra triumphans jubila - SATB, 2 vln, gamba, vlne, bc
- Vesperae brivissimae de beatissimae virgine et de apostolis - SATB, 2 vln, vc, corn, 2 trbn, bsn, bc
- Dixit Dominus
- Laudate pueri
- Laetatus sum
- Nisi Dominus
- Lauda Jerusalem
- Credidi
- In convertendo
- Domine probabasti me
- Magnificat
- Vesperae solemnis pleno coro - SSAATTBB, 2 vln, 5 vla, 2 corn, 2 clar, 3 trbn, vlne, bc
Video
- Sonata Quarta by Schmelzer, performed by Catham Baroque