Georg Caspar Schürmann
Encyclopedia
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...
Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
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...
. His name also appears as Schurmann and in Hochdeutsch
Hochdeutsch
Hochdeutsch is a German word which literally translates to "high German".It is commonly used with two meanings:* Linguistically and historically, it refers to the High German languages , or dialects , which developed in the Southern uplands and the Alps, for example, modern central and southern...
as Scheuermann.
Life
Schürmann studied music, including voice, in his native Lower SaxonyLower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
. By 1693 he was singing at the Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
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...
as a young alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
. In 1694 he composed a cantata for the inauguration of the Castle Salzdahlum in Wolfenbüttel. In 1697 he went to Lüneburg
Lüneburg
Lüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...
(about 50 km southeast of Hamburg) for a guest performance. His singing there so impressed Duke Anton Ulrich
Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Anthony Ulrich was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruled over the Wolfenbüttel subdivision of the duchy from 1685 until 1702 jointly with his brother, and solely from 1704 until his death.-Life:Anthony Ulrich was the second son of Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg; he studied at the...
of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel that the Duke hired him on the spot. From 1702 to 1707 he was principal conductor and composer for the Meiningen Court Orchestra
Meiningen Court Orchestra
The Meiningen Court Orchestra is one of the oldest and most traditional orchestras in Europe. The now 68-member orchestra is part of the Meininger Theater and in addition to their performances at opera performances regularly give symphony concerts and youth concerts...
. In 1707 Schürmann officially succeeded Reinhard Keiser
Reinhard Keiser
Reinhard Keiser was a popular German opera composer based in Hamburg. He wrote over a hundred operas, and in 1745 Johann Adolph Scheibe considered him an equal to Johann Kuhnau, George Frideric Handel and Georg Philipp Telemann , but his work was largely forgotten for many...
as Cammer-Componist (court composer). He served the court of Brunswick, with but a few brief interruptions, for 54 years until he died at the age of 79.
Work
Schürmann wrote over thirty operas, many of which have not survived. His music was characterized by harmonic richness, careful contrapuntal elaboration, flexible handling of form and theatrically effective delineation of characters. Among his operas were:- Salomon, in einem Singespiel. (Libretto: Anton Ulrich (Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel)Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-WolfenbüttelAnthony Ulrich was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruled over the Wolfenbüttel subdivision of the duchy from 1685 until 1702 jointly with his brother, and solely from 1704 until his death.-Life:Anthony Ulrich was the second son of Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg; he studied at the...
). Wolfenbüttel, o.J. [1697?] - Daniel, in einem Sing-Spiel. (Libretto: Christian Knorr von RosenrothChristian Knorr von RosenrothChristian Knorr von Rosenroth was a German Hebraist born at Alt-Raudten, today Stara Rudna in Silesia. After having completed his studies in the universities of Wittenberg and Leipzig, he traveled through Holland, France, and England.On his return he settled at Sulzbach and devoted himself to the...
). Braunschweig 1701 - Telemaque. (Libretto: Johann BeerJohann BeerJohann Beer also Bahr, Behr or Bär, was an Austrian author, court official and composer....
). Naumburg 1706 - L'amor insanguinato oder Holofernes. (Libretto: Joachim Beccau). Braunschweig 1716.
- Die Pleiades oder das Siebengestirne. (Libretto: Friedrich Christian BressandFriedrich Christian BressandFriedrich Christian Bressand was a Baroque German poet and opera librettist.-Life:Bressands too-short life was predominantly in the service of German courts. He was born the son of the Margrave of Durlach's personal cook, but was forced to flee the town when it was destroyed by French troops in 1689...
). Braunschweig 1716 (und Wolfenbüttel 1735) - Der Edelmühtige Porsenna. (Libretto: Friedrich Christian BressandFriedrich Christian BressandFriedrich Christian Bressand was a Baroque German poet and opera librettist.-Life:Bressands too-short life was predominantly in the service of German courts. He was born the son of the Margrave of Durlach's personal cook, but was forced to flee the town when it was destroyed by French troops in 1689...
). Wolfenbüttel 1718 - Heinrich der Vogler. (Libretto: Johann Ulrich König). Wolfenbüttel 1718 (u.ö.)
- Die getreue Alceste in einer Opera. (Libretto: Johann Ulrich König). Braunschweig 1719 (u.ö.)
- Ludovicus Pius oder Ludewig der Fromme. (Louis the Pious). Braunschweig 1726
- Clelia, in einer Opera vorgestellet. (Libretto: Friedrich Christian BressandFriedrich Christian BressandFriedrich Christian Bressand was a Baroque German poet and opera librettist.-Life:Bressands too-short life was predominantly in the service of German courts. He was born the son of the Margrave of Durlach's personal cook, but was forced to flee the town when it was destroyed by French troops in 1689...
). Braunschweig 1730 - Procris und Cephalus, in einer Opera. (Libretto: Friedrich Christian BressandFriedrich Christian BressandFriedrich Christian Bressand was a Baroque German poet and opera librettist.-Life:Bressands too-short life was predominantly in the service of German courts. He was born the son of the Margrave of Durlach's personal cook, but was forced to flee the town when it was destroyed by French troops in 1689...
). Wolfenbüttel 1734
Sources
- Georg Caspar Schürmann, entry in the German Wikipedia
- Liner notes by Bernhard Schrammek for Ouvertüren: Music for the Hamburg Opera performed by the Akademie für Alte Musik BerlinAkademie für Alte Musik BerlinAkademie für Alte Musik Berlin is a German chamber orchestra founded in East Berlin in 1982...
(Harmonia MundiHarmonia MundiHarmonia Mundi is an independent music record label founded in 1958 by Bernard Coutaz in Arles . The Latin phrase means "world harmony"....
HMC 901852)