Heinrich Besseler
Encyclopedia
Heinrich Besseler was a German musicologist
born in Hörde
, Germany
. He is particularly known for his colossal work, Die Musik des Mittelalters und der Renaissance (1931), which provided a new perspective on historical musicology by taking a history-of-ideas approach
to music history.
(under Martin Heidegger
), German language
, mathematics
, and natural science
in Freiburg im Breisgau. Subsequently, he studied music
(under Hans Gál
) and musicology (under Wilibald Gurlitt
, Guido Adler
, and Wilhelm Fischer
) in Vienna
and Freiburg. In 1923 he obtained a doctoral degree in musicology from the University of Freiburg
. The subject of his thesis was the history and stylistic development of dance suites
in seventeenth-century Germany. After further studies at the University of Göttingen, he wrote a professorial thesis on medieval
music, spanning the years between 1250 and 1350. From 1928 he taught at the University of Heidelberg.
In 1934, Besseler became a member of the Sturmabteilung
. While admittedly failing to distance himself from National Socialism, Besseler did experience a series of conflicts with Herbert Gerigk
, the most notorious anti-Semitic musicologist in Germany. From 1949 to 1956 he taught at the University of Jena; and from 1957 to 1965 at the University of Leipzig
. He was conferred with an honorary doctorate at the University of Chicago
in 1967. Besseler died at Leipzig
.
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
born in Hörde
Hörde
Hörde is a Stadtbezirk and also a Stadtteil in the south of the city of Dortmund, in Germany.Hörde is situated at 51°29' North, 7°30' East, and is at an elevation of 112 metres above mean sea level.It situated in southern part of Dortmund, a major town in the Ruhrgebiet.It is made up of the...
, Germany
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...
. He is particularly known for his colossal work, Die Musik des Mittelalters und der Renaissance (1931), which provided a new perspective on historical musicology by taking a history-of-ideas approach
History of ideas
The history of ideas is a field of research in history that deals with the expression, preservation, and change of human ideas over time. The history of ideas is a sister-discipline to, or a particular approach within, intellectual history...
to music history.
Life
Besseler studied philosophyPhilosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
(under Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher known for his existential and phenomenological explorations of the "question of Being."...
), German language
German studies
German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents, and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German history, and German politics in addition to the...
, mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, and natural science
Natural science
The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
in Freiburg im Breisgau. Subsequently, he studied music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
(under Hans Gál
Hans Gál
Hans Gál was a composer, teacher and pianist.Gál was born to a Jewish family in the small village of Brunn am Gebirge, Niederösterreich, just outside Vienna. He was trained in that city at the New Vienna Conservatory where later he taught for some time. While a student he won the K. und K...
) and musicology (under Wilibald Gurlitt
Wilibald Gurlitt
Wilibald Gurlitt was a German musicologist.Gurlitt, son of the art historian Cornelius Gurlitt, graduated from Leipzig under Michael Reimann, working specifically on Michael Praetorius. In 1919 he became a lecturer in Freiburg, finally becoming professor in 1929...
, Guido Adler
Guido Adler
Guido Adler was a Bohemian-Austrian musicologist and writer.His father Joachim, a physician, died of typhoid fever in 1857...
, and Wilhelm Fischer
Wilhelm Fischer
Wilhelm "Willi" Fischer boxer, Germany at the 1992 Summer Olympics Barcelona, Spain. Nicknamed The Ox Ahmed Sarir Jerry Nijman super heavyweight Bulgaria's Svilen Rusinov....
) in 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...
and Freiburg. In 1923 he obtained a doctoral degree in musicology from the University of Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
. The subject of his thesis was the history and stylistic development of dance suites
Suite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
in seventeenth-century Germany. After further studies at the University of Göttingen, he wrote a professorial thesis on medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
music, spanning the years between 1250 and 1350. From 1928 he taught at the University of Heidelberg.
In 1934, Besseler became a member of the Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
. While admittedly failing to distance himself from National Socialism, Besseler did experience a series of conflicts with Herbert Gerigk
Herbert Gerigk
Herbert Gerigk was a German musicologist, notable for his co-authoring of the Nazi Lexicon of Jews in Music....
, the most notorious anti-Semitic musicologist in Germany. From 1949 to 1956 he taught at the University of Jena; and from 1957 to 1965 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...
. He was conferred with an honorary doctorate at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1967. Besseler died at Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
.
Books
- Beiträge zur Stilgeschichte der deutschen Suite im 17. Jahrhundert (doctoral thesis, 1923)
- Die Die Motettenkomposition von Petrus de Cruce bis Philipp von Vitry (professorial thesis, 1925)
- Die Musik des Mittelalters und der Renaissance (Potsdam: Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft Athenaion, 1931)
- Zum Problem der Tenorgeige, Musikalische Gegenwartsfragen I, 1949
- Bourdon und Fauxbourdon – Studien zum Ursprung der niederländischen Musik, 1950
- Fünf echte Bildnisse Johann Sebastian Bachs, 1956
- Das musikalische Hören der Neuzeit, 1959
- Das Schriftbild der mehrstimmigen Musik, 1973 (co-authored with Peter Gülke).