Johann Ludwig Krebs
Encyclopedia
Johann Ludwig Krebs was a Rococo
musician and composer primarily for the pipe organ
.
, Germany to Johann Tobias Krebs
, a well-known organist. J. Tobias had at least three sons who were considered musically talented, and J. Ludwig was sent to Leipzig
to study organ, lute
, and the violin
.
Krebs was privileged enough to be taught by Johann Sebastian Bach
on the organ. Bach (who had also instructed J. Ludwig’s father) held Krebs in high standing. From a technical standpoint, Krebs was unrivaled next to Bach in his organ proficiency. However, it was quite difficult for Krebs to obtain a patron or a post at any cathedral. This can be attributed to the fact that by this time the Baroque tradition was being left behind in favor of the new galant
music style. This point in time also marked the transition to the classical music era
, with composers such as Bach's son, C.P.E. Bach
.
Krebs took a small post in Zwickau
, and later in 1755 (five years after the death of Bach, which is normally referred to as the end of the Baroque period) he was appointed court organist of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
under Prince Friedrich
. Krebs was so desperate at the time that he did not work for money but instead for food to feed his family (including seven children). Despite never holding a significant post, never being a court composer, and never being commissioned for a work, Krebs was able to compose quite a significant collection of works, though few were published until the 1900s.
is considered by many to be comparable to Bach's. His work is considered to be of excellent quality, though at the time it was old-fashioned, and excessively complex for the galant era, that espoused clarity and simplicity.
Krebs’s Fantasia in F minor for oboe and organ is one of his most expressive and his most famous works, as is the Eight Short Preludes and Fugues
that are sometimes attributed to him as well as to his father and J.S. Bach; as well as two large scale concerti for lute
and orchestra. Krebs's three sons went on to become well known performers in their day, and one of them became a noted Lieder composer.
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
musician and composer primarily for the pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
.
Life
Krebs was born in 1713 in ButtelstedtButtelstedt
Buttelstedt is a town in the Weimarer Land district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 11 km north of Weimar.-Notable people from Buttelstedt:*Johann Friedrich Fasch*August Wilhelm Hupel*Johann Ludwig Krebs...
, Germany to Johann Tobias Krebs
Johann Tobias Krebs
Johann Tobias Krebs was a German organist and composer.Krebs was born near Weimar, and died in the same area. He is known as a student of Johann Gottfried Walther and Johann Sebastian Bach....
, a well-known organist. J. Tobias had at least three sons who were considered musically talented, and J. Ludwig was sent to 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...
to study organ, lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
, and the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
.
Krebs was privileged enough to be taught by Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
on the organ. Bach (who had also instructed J. Ludwig’s father) held Krebs in high standing. From a technical standpoint, Krebs was unrivaled next to Bach in his organ proficiency. However, it was quite difficult for Krebs to obtain a patron or a post at any cathedral. This can be attributed to the fact that by this time the Baroque tradition was being left behind in favor of the new galant
Galant
In music, Galant was a term referring to a style, principally occurring in the third quarter of the 18th century, which featured a return to classical simplicity after the complexity of the late Baroque era...
music style. This point in time also marked the transition to the classical music era
Classical period (music)
The dates of the Classical Period in Western music are generally accepted as being between about 1750 and 1830. However, the term classical music is used colloquially to describe a variety of Western musical styles from the ninth century to the present, and especially from the sixteenth or...
, with composers such as Bach's son, C.P.E. Bach
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
right|250pxCarl Philipp Emanuel Bach was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and second son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach...
.
Krebs took a small post in Zwickau
Zwickau
Zwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
, and later in 1755 (five years after the death of Bach, which is normally referred to as the end of the Baroque period) he was appointed court organist of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was a duchy ruled by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in today's Thuringia, Germany.It was nominally created in 1672 when Frederick William III, the last duke of Saxe-Altenburg, died and Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha , inherited the major part of his possessions...
under Prince Friedrich
Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg , was a duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.-Biography:He was the eldest son of Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Magdalene Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst....
. Krebs was so desperate at the time that he did not work for money but instead for food to feed his family (including seven children). Despite never holding a significant post, never being a court composer, and never being commissioned for a work, Krebs was able to compose quite a significant collection of works, though few were published until the 1900s.
Works
Krebs received excellent training from Bach, and his counterpointCounterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
is considered by many to be comparable to Bach's. His work is considered to be of excellent quality, though at the time it was old-fashioned, and excessively complex for the galant era, that espoused clarity and simplicity.
Krebs’s Fantasia in F minor for oboe and organ is one of his most expressive and his most famous works, as is the Eight Short Preludes and Fugues
Eight Short Preludes and Fugues
The Eight Short Preludes and Fugues are a collection of works for keyboard and pedal, originally attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. They were believed for a long time to have been composed by one of Bach's pupils, Johann Tobias Krebs, based on certain unusual characteristics of the music when...
that are sometimes attributed to him as well as to his father and J.S. Bach; as well as two large scale concerti for lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
and orchestra. Krebs's three sons went on to become well known performers in their day, and one of them became a noted Lieder composer.
- Clavier Ubung Bestehend in verschiedenen vorspielen und veränderungen einiger Kirchen Gesaenge (Nürnberg, J.U. Haffner, c. 1744)
- Clavier-Ubung bestehet in einer [...] Suite [...] Zweyter Theil (Nürnberg, J.U. Haffner, c. 1744)
- Clavier-Ubung bestehend in sechs Sonatinen … IIIter Theil (Nürnberg, J.U. Haffner, c. 1744)