Carl Gottlieb Reissiger
Encyclopedia
Carl Gottlieb Reißiger (31 January 1798, Belzig
– 7 November 1859, Dresden
) was a German
Kapellmeister
and composer
.
and was the pupil of Johann Gottfried Schicht
and Peter von Winter
. In 1821, he followed the example of the young Beethoven
and went to Vienna
to study with Antonio Salieri
and also studied theology
at the University of Leipzig
. Reißiger continued his musical studies in France
and Italy
in 1824, under the sponsorship of the Prussian
Ministry of Cultural Affairs. After working for two years as the musical director of the Dresden Opera, he succeeded Carl Maria von Weber
as the Kapellmeister of the Dresden Court
in 1828, and would hold this office until his death in 1859. A famous piece known as Weber's Last Waltz was actually written by Reißiger (one of his opus 26 Danses brillantes) and is mentioned in Edgar Allan Poe
's The Fall of the House of Usher
(1839) as one of Roderick Usher's favorite pieces of music; it is also the title of a 1912 film.
Reißiger left behind an extensive oeuvre that was distinguished above all by his vocal music
, which included nine opera
s, one oratorio
, nine Latin
masses
and another four in German
, as well as sixty lied
er. Besides his own works, he also won fame for conducting the premiere of Wagner
's opera Rienzi
in 1842. Reißiger's most successful compositions were the operas Didone, Der Ahnenschatz, Libella, Die Felsenmühle, and Adèle de Foix, and the melodrama
Yelva. His great masses, composed for Catholic
services at Court, carry rich melodies
and warm feeling. The same can be said of his hymn
s, motet
s, and lieder, which have been included in many collections, as well as of his oratorio David.
In addition, Reißiger wrote and published various forms
of orchestra
l and chamber music
. While these works revealed his skill and inventiveness, they fell out of taste after his death. One of his leading pupils was Hermann Berens
.
He was a good friend of Joachim Raff
during the latter's years in Dresden.
Belzig
Bad Belzig, also known as Belzig, is a historic town in Brandenburg, Germany located about southwest of Berlin. It is the capital of the Potsdam-Mittelmark district.-Geography:...
– 7 November 1859, 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....
) was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
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...
and 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...
.
Biography
Reißiger attended the Thomasschule zu LeipzigThomasschule zu Leipzig
St. Thomas School, Leipzig is a co-educational and public boarding school in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1212 and is one of the oldest schools in the world.St. Thomas is known for its art, language and music education...
and was the pupil of Johann Gottfried Schicht
Johann Gottfried Schicht
Johann Gottfried Schicht was a German composer and conductor.He was the conductor of the Gewandhausorchester from 1785 to 1810, and then the cantor of the Thomanerchor until 1823....
and Peter von Winter
Peter Winter
Peter Winter was a German opera composer who followed Mozart and preceded Weber, acting as a bridge between the two in the development of German opera....
. In 1821, he followed the example of the young Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
and went to 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...
to study with Antonio Salieri
Antonio Salieri
Antonio Salieri was a Venetian classical composer, conductor and teacher born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, but who spent his adult life and career as a faithful subject of the Habsburg monarchy....
and also studied theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
. Reißiger continued his musical studies in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in 1824, under the sponsorship of the Prussian
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
Ministry of Cultural Affairs. After working for two years as the musical director of the Dresden Opera, he succeeded Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
as the Kapellmeister of the Dresden Court
Noble court
The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...
in 1828, and would hold this office until his death in 1859. A famous piece known as Weber's Last Waltz was actually written by Reißiger (one of his opus 26 Danses brillantes) and is mentioned in Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
's The Fall of the House of Usher
The Fall of the House of Usher
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in September 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. It was slightly revised in 1840 for the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque...
(1839) as one of Roderick Usher's favorite pieces of music; it is also the title of a 1912 film.
Vocal music
Vocal music is a genre of music performed by one or more singers, with or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered instrumental music Vocal music is a genre of...
, which included nine opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s, one oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
, nine Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
masses
Mass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
and another four in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, as well as sixty lied
Lied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
er. Besides his own works, he also won fame for conducting the premiere of Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's opera Rienzi
Rienzi
Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen is an early opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Bulwer-Lytton's novel of the same name . The title is commonly shortened to Rienzi...
in 1842. Reißiger's most successful compositions were the operas Didone, Der Ahnenschatz, Libella, Die Felsenmühle, and Adèle de Foix, and the melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
Yelva. His great masses, composed for Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
services at Court, carry rich melodies
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
and warm feeling. The same can be said of his hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s, motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
s, and lieder, which have been included in many collections, as well as of his oratorio David.
In addition, Reißiger wrote and published various forms
Musical form
The term musical form refers to the overall structure or plan of a piece of music, and it describes the layout of a composition as divided into sections...
of orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l and chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
. While these works revealed his skill and inventiveness, they fell out of taste after his death. One of his leading pupils was Hermann Berens
Hermann Berens
Hermann Berens was a German Romantic composer famous mainly for his piano music, some of which is included in the Royal Conservatory of Music's Syllabus....
.
He was a good friend of Joachim Raff
Joachim Raff
Joseph Joachim Raff was a German-Swiss composer, teacher and pianist.-Biography:Raff was born in Lachen in Switzerland. His father, a teacher, had fled there from Württemberg in 1810 to escape forced recruitment into the military of that southwestern German state that had to fight for Napoleon in...
during the latter's years in Dresden.