HOASM: Johann Gottfried Müthel http://www.hoasm.org/XIE/Muethel.html

1 de 2 24/03/2007 12:53

Johann Gottfried Müthel(1728 1788)

German composer. Müthel has always had a small, but secure, place in music history, due to his use of theword fortepiano, the first documented use of the term, in the title of his Duetto fur 2 Clavier, 2 Flugel, oder 2 Fortepiano (1771).

Johann Gottfried Müthel was born on January 17, 1728, in the town of Molln, near Hamburg. He was thefifth of nine children (six boys, three girls), and his father, Christian Caspar (1696-1764), was an organist and friend of Georg Philipp Telemann. At the age of six, young Müthel began music instruction with hisfather, first on the clavier, later on the violin and flute. After completing studies with his father, Müthelstudied performance techniques and composition with Johann Paul Kunzen (1696-1757), a pupil of Christian Rau and Johann Kuhnau, in nearby Lubeck. At the age of 19, he was appointed chamber musician and organist to the court of Duke Christian Ludwig II (1683-1756) at Mecklenburg-Schwerin. His immediate predecessor at this post was his older brother Anton Christian (1725-1773), while a younger brother, Ernst Gottlieb (1703-1765), took over the job in 1753. At the Mecklenburg court, the social position of the organist was at the twentieth level along with the court painter and the gardener, onestep above the forestkeeper and the dancing master, but one rank below the court trumpet player anddrummer.

In May, 1750, the Duke granted Müthel a year's leave of absence to study with Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig. Although he lived in the Bach household, the length of study with the master of the Baroque was brief, since Bach died three months after Müthel's arrival. Müthel is often mentioned as Bach's last pupil,and he was present at the deathbed. Before returning to Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Müthel utilized hisremaining leave time to travel and meet other composers. Moving to Naumberg, he studied for a short time with a son-in-law of Bach, Johann Christoph Altnikol (1719-1759). In the summer of 1751, he moved on to Dresden and became acquainted with the composer Johann Adolf Hasse. From Dresden,Müthel proceeded to the court of Frederick the Great at Potsdam and Berlin, where he became friendswith C.P.E. Bach. The friendship between these two men would last a lifetime, and they corresponded on a regular basis.

In 1753 Müthel left Mecklenburg-Schwerin for the town of Riga in Latvia, where he joined his brotherAnton Christian, now a lawyer and Attorney-General of the Superior Court of Justice in Riga. Another brother, the theologian Gottlieb Fredrich (1735-?), also moved to Riga in 1758. In 1756, a set of works forkeyboard became the first compositions by Müthel to appear in print. Only a handful of pieces by thecomposer were published during his lifetime, the last being the Duetto in 1771. Müthel's skill as anorganist earned him the post at the cathedral of St. Peter's in Riga, and he held the job from 1767 until his death in 1788.

Although Müthel was little known outside of Riga, he did gain the respect of the eminent English musicscholar, Charles Burney. Burney mentioned Müthel several times, always favorably, in The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands and United Provinces (1773, 1775), and A General History of Music (1776). In the former, Burney wrote:

M. Johann Gottfried Müthel of Riga, being by birth and education a German, deserves a placehere, though he is at present established in a city which appertains to Russia. When a student upon keyed instruments has vanquished all the difficulties to be found in the lessons of Handel, Scarlatti, Schobert, Eckard, and C.P.E. Bach; and, like Alexander, laments that nothing more remains to conquer, I would recommend to him, as an exercise for patience and perserverence, the compositions of Müthel; which are so full of novelty, taste, grace, andcontrivance, that I should not hesitate to rank them among the greatest productions of the present age... The style of this composer more resembles that of Emanuel Bach, than any

HOASM: Johann Gottfried Müthel http://www.hoasm.org/XIE/Muethel.html

2 de 2 24/03/2007 12:53

other. But the passages are entirely his own, and reflect as much honour upon his mind as his hand. Indeed his writings abound with difficulties, which to common hearers, as well as common players, must appear too elaborate; for even his accompaniments are so charged as torequire performers, for each instrument, of equal abilities to his own, which is expecting too much, in musicians of this nether world.

Not only was his music elaborate, but Müthel's opinions on composition were unique:

Generally I am dissatisfied with those composers who write on almost entirely without ceasing... If one would work more sparingly and only when the spirit is rested and has recovered and rid itself completely from previous thoughts, one would think and write in a novel and fiery manner, and dull and sleepy works would become more rare.

Müthel, along with C.P.E. Bach, was truly representative of the Sturm und Drang style of composition of German music of the mid-eighteenth century, both in his music and his lifestyle. However, his beliefs sometimes bordered on the eccentric, as exemplified in a passage published in 1782:

Also found here was an excellent clavier player named Müthel who, however, had his peculiarwhims. One of them was that he would never perform other than in winter time when deep snow covered the streets, in order - as he said - not to be disturbed by the clatter of carriages passing by.

XIE: Bach's Pupils and his Legacy | XIF: The Dresden Virtuosi | XID: Orchestral and Chamber Music in Transition | XIB: At the Court of Frederick the Great

Johann Gottfried Müthel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Gottfried_M%C3%BCthel

1 de 3 24/03/2007 12:54

Johann Gottfried MüthelFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Johann Gottfried Müthel (January 17, 1728 – July 14, 1788) was a German composer and noted keyboard virtuoso. Along with C.P.E. Bach, he represented the Sturm und Drang style of composition.

As far as is known, he was the first to use the term fortepiano in a published work, in the title of his Duetto für 2Clavier, 2 Flügel, oder 2 Fortepiano (1771), which reflects the rising popularity of the fortepiano at that time.

Contents

1 Biography2 Influence3 Compositions

3.1 For keyboard3.2 For voice3.3 For other instruments

4 Trivia5 References6 External links

Biography

He was born in Mölln in the Duchy of Lauenburg, the fifth of nine children. His father was Christian Caspar, an organist and friend of Georg Philipp Telemann. He studied music with his father, and later Johann Paul Kunzen in Lübeck. In 1747, at age 19, he became a court organist and cembalist for Duke Christian Ludwig II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, in Schwerin.

In 1750 he was given leave to study with Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig. He became Bach's last pupil, beginning study only three months before the master's death. In that time, he notated a number of the blind composer's final works, including the Chromatic Fantasia and parts of the Orgelbuchlein. According to Bach's biographer Philipp Spitta, he was present at Bach's deathbed, and took over his duties for nine weeks. Afterwards, he continued study with Johann Christoph Altnikol, who had also been living and studying with Bach. Afterwards he took the opportunity to travel and meet other composers, the most notable of whom was C.P.E. Bach (then residing at the court of Frederick II of Prussia at Potsdam), with whom he maintained a lifelong friendship and correspondence. In 1751 he returned to the ducal court, where he remained for two more years, eventually being replaced by his younger brother.

In 1753 he moved to Riga (now in Latvia, then part of the Russian Empire), where one of his brothers had moved. It was here that he published his first works, in 1756; he only published a few works in his lifetime. At first he worked as a conductor for a private orchestra; later, he was appointed organist at St. Peter's Church, which he served from 1767 until 1788, when he died in nearby Bienenhof.

Influence

Riga was far from the established musical centers of Europe, and published few works, but he gained praise from a number of musicians for his virtuosity. The English music historian Charles Burney, who mentioned him several times in his writings, held him in high esteem. The German Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart wrote of his harpsichord skill that "connoisseurs that have heard him cannot praise enough the quickness, correctness and lightness with which he conquers mountains of difficulties."[1]

Johann Gottfried Müthel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Gottfried_M%C3%BCthel

2 de 3 24/03/2007 12:54

He is believed to have been a skilled improviser on the keyboard. He seems to have preferred the clavichord.[1]

Compositions

Most of his works remained unpublished in his lifetime, and some known works are still without official publication.None of the works for his principal instrument, the organ, were published in his lifetime, nor were any for non-keyboard instruments.

For keyboard

His known works include a total of seven concerti, nine sonatas, and numerous other shorter pieces.

Concerto in B flat major (printed 1767)Concerto for Harpsichord in D minor (printed 1767)Sonata No. 1 in F major (printed in 1756)Sonata No. 2 in G major (printed in 1756)Sonata No. 3 in C major (printed in 1756)Duetto für 2 Clavier, 2 Flügel, oder 2 Fortepiano (printed in 1771)Duetto in E-flat major (printed in 1771)Arioso with 12 Variations, No. 1 in G major (printed in 1756)Arioso with 12 Variations, No. 2 in C minor (printed in 1756)12 Variations for ClavichordMinuet with 6 variationsTempo di Minuetto con VariazioniFantasy in F for Organ

For voice

45 Choice Odes and Songs from Various Poets (45 Auserlesene Oden und Lieder van verschiedenen Dichtern)(printed in 1759)A cantata

For other instruments

Concerto for Bassoon in C majorConcerto for 2 Bassoons in E-flat majorSonata in D major for Flute and Basso Continuo

Trivia

Müthel is greatly talked about in the short story "Early Music"(http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fiction/051010fi_fiction) by Jeffrey Eugenides.

References

^ a b http://www.harpsichord-sd.com/clavichord/muethel.html. Liner notes by Peter Reidemeister. Accessed on May 12, 2006

1.

External links

HOASM: Johann Gottfried Müthel (http://www.hoasm.org/XIE/Muethel.html) Analysis of Concerto for 2 Bassoons in E-flat(http://idrs.colorado.edu/www.idrs/publications2/journal2/jnl12/muthel.html) Liner notes from clavichord recording, by Peter Reidemeister(http://www.harpsichord-sd.com/clavichord/muethel.html)

Johann Gottfried Müthel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Gottfried_M%C3%BCthel

3 de 3 24/03/2007 12:54

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Gottfried_M%C3%BCthel"

Categories: German composers | 1728 births | 1788 deaths

This page was last modified 18:49, 5 December 2006.All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a US-registered 501(c)(3)tax-deductible nonprofit charity.