This Week in Classical Music: November 2, 2020.Scheidt, Bellini and two Pianists.Samuel Scheidt, one of the three German composers of the early Baroque (the other two being the better known Heinrich Schütz and Johann Hermann Schein) was born in Halle on November 3rd of 1587.All three of them were born withing two years of each other and worked together; Scheidt was the godfather to one of Schein’s daughters, while Schütz and Schein were good friends. Around 1607 Scheidt went to Amsterdam to study with the famous Dutch composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck.Upon his return to Halle, Scheidt was appointed the court organist to the Margrave of Brandenburg.At that time Michael Praetorius was the official court Kapellmeister but he was mostly absent, working in Dresden; Scheidt would have an opportunity to work with him in 1616, and two years later, in 1618, with both Praetorius and Schütz.In 1620 Scheidt himself was appointed Kapellmeister.Around that time, he composed a collection of motets called Cantiones sacrae.Here’s one of them, Das alte Jahr vergangen ist, performed by the ensemble Vox Luminis, directed by Lionel Meunier.This was a very productive time for Scheidt but things changed soon.The Thirty-Year War was raging and in 1625 it reached Halle.The city suffered terribly, changing hands several time between the warrying parties.By the end of the war half of the population was either dead or had left the city.Scheidt, who through all these years had stayed in Halle, retained his position of Kapellmeister but wasn’t paid.Practically penniless, he continued composing.At some point the city created a position of director musices for him, but even that didn’t last long.Another tragedy struck in 1636 when the plague killed all four of his surviving children within a month.In 1638, as the war was over, August, the Duke Elector of Saxony, moved to Halle and thus revived the court.Scheidt continued composing and publishing new music, much of it for the organ.His final composition was a collection of 100 organ chorales, published in 1650.Samuel Scheidt died in Halle on March 24th of 1654.
Vincenzo Bellini was also born this week, on November 3rd of 1801.You can read more about him here, the entry also contains information about Samuel Scheidt’s teacher, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck.And then there was a composer whose name, according to Stephen Fry, is a good contender for the “Best name not just in music but in all history”: Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf.Hard to argue with Fry on this one.Von Dittersdorf was born in Vienna on November 2nd of 1739.He was a prolific composer, knew both Haydn and Mozart, and some of his concertos are very pleasant.
Finally, two wonderful pianists were born on November 5th: Walter Gieseking in 1895 and György Cziffra in 1921.
Samuel Scheidt, more 2020
This Week in Classical Music: November 2, 2020. Scheidt, Bellini and two Pianists. Samuel Scheidt, one of the three German composers of the early Baroque (the other two being the better
known Heinrich Schütz and Johann Hermann Schein) was born in Halle on November 3rd of 1587. All three of them were born withing two years of each other and worked together; Scheidt was the godfather to one of Schein’s daughters, while Schütz and Schein were good friends. Around 1607 Scheidt went to Amsterdam to study with the famous Dutch composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. Upon his return to Halle, Scheidt was appointed the court organist to the Margrave of Brandenburg. At that time Michael Praetorius was the official court Kapellmeister but he was mostly absent, working in Dresden; Scheidt would have an opportunity to work with him in 1616, and two years later, in 1618, with both Praetorius and Schütz. In 1620 Scheidt himself was appointed Kapellmeister. Around that time, he composed a collection of motets called Cantiones sacrae. Here’s one of them, Das alte Jahr vergangen ist, performed by the ensemble Vox Luminis, directed by Lionel Meunier. This was a very productive time for Scheidt but things changed soon. The Thirty-Year War was raging and in 1625 it reached Halle. The city suffered terribly, changing hands several time between the warrying parties. By the end of the war half of the population was either dead or had left the city. Scheidt, who through all these years had stayed in Halle, retained his position of Kapellmeister but wasn’t paid. Practically penniless, he continued composing. At some point the city created a position of director musices for him, but even that didn’t last long. Another tragedy struck in 1636 when the plague killed all four of his surviving children within a month. In 1638, as the war was over, August, the Duke Elector of Saxony, moved to Halle and thus revived the court. Scheidt continued composing and publishing new music, much of it for the organ. His final composition was a collection of 100 organ chorales, published in 1650. Samuel Scheidt died in Halle on March 24th of 1654.
Vincenzo Bellini was also born this week, on November 3rd of 1801. You can read more about him here, the entry also contains information about Samuel Scheidt’s teacher, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. And then there was a composer whose name, according to Stephen Fry, is a good contender for the “Best name not just in music but in all history”: Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf. Hard to argue with Fry on this one. Von Dittersdorf was born in Vienna on November 2nd of 1739. He was a prolific composer, knew both Haydn and Mozart, and some of his concertos are very pleasant.
Finally, two wonderful pianists were born on November 5th: Walter Gieseking in 1895 and György Cziffra in 1921.