Johann Jakob Walther
Encyclopedia
Johann Jakob Walther was a German violinist and composer
.
(Johann Sebastian Bach
's cousin), a dictionary which first appeared in 1732. He was born in Witterda
bei Erfurt
. Between 1670 and 1674 he is said to have remained a violinist in the orchestra of Cosimo III of the Medici
s in Florence
. From 1674 he was concertmaster at the court of Dresden
. After the death of his patron in 1680 he became the Italian secretary at the elector's court in Mainz and was ordained a canon
. He died in Mainz
.
Alongside Biber and Westhoff
, J.J. Walther is one of the most significant violinists of the 17th century. Besides a virtuoso technique including doublestops and arpeggio
s, his works display a wealth of formal devices, especially in the treatment of ostinato variations.
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...
.
Life
All the known facts of his life and activity are from Musikalischen Lexikon by Johann Gottfried WaltherJohann Gottfried Walther
Johann Gottfried Walther was a German music theorist, organist, composer, and lexicographer of the Baroque era.Walther was born at Erfurt...
(Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's cousin), a dictionary which first appeared in 1732. He was born in Witterda
Witterda
Witterda is a municipality in the Sömmerda district of Thuringia, Germany....
bei Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
. Between 1670 and 1674 he is said to have remained a violinist in the orchestra of Cosimo III of the Medici
Medici
The House of Medici or Famiglia de' Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside,...
s in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. From 1674 he was concertmaster at the court of Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
. After the death of his patron in 1680 he became the Italian secretary at the elector's court in Mainz and was ordained a canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
. He died in Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
.
Alongside Biber and Westhoff
Johann Paul von Westhoff
Johann Paul von Westhoff was a German Baroque composer and violinist. One of the most important exponents of the Dresden violin school, he was among the highest ranked violinists of his day, and composed some of the earliest known music for solo violin...
, J.J. Walther is one of the most significant violinists of the 17th century. Besides a virtuoso technique including doublestops and arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
s, his works display a wealth of formal devices, especially in the treatment of ostinato variations.
Works
40 compositions are known, contained in two volumes:- Scherzi da Violino solo con il basso continuo, published in 1676. This cycle anticipates PaganiniNiccolò PaganiniNiccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...
's technique in that it contains pizzicato harp imitations while the bow imitates nightingaleNightingaleThe Nightingale , also known as Rufous and Common Nightingale, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...
song. - Hortus chelicus published in 1688 (in the second printing of 1694 with the new title Wohlgepflanzter Violinischer Lustgarten). In the forward, Walther expresses his confidence that this self-published volume will enjoy the same success as its predecessor. It contains 28 pieces and is more varied than the other collection.