Johannes Khuen
Encyclopedia
Johannes Kuen (1606 – November 14, 1675), priest, poet, and composer, was one of the leading literary figures of the early Baroque
in Bavaria
.
Khuen, who was born in Moosach
and studied with the Munich
Jesuits in the early 1620s, spent his entire career in the Bavarian capital as a chaplain to the Wartenberg family and beneficiary at the church of St. Peter. Between 1635 and his death he published at least fifteen books of vernacular sacred songs, some in multiple editions, with simple melodies and thoroughbass accompaniment that mark a distinctive stage in the adoption of sacred monody
north of the Alps
. All were published in Munich, and the relatively narrow distribution of extant exemplars suggests that they were primarily intended for a local or regional audience.
At least fifteen distinct titles attributable to Khuen appeared between 1635 and his death in 1675. Some of the larger compendia include the Epithalamium Marianum (1644), the Tabernacula pastorum (1650), the Munera pastorum (1651), and the Gaudia pastorum (1655). Khuen's poetry is closely related to that of the Munich "tract school" with which he was associated, and which included among its more prominent members the Munich court secretary Aegidius Albertinus and the Jesuits Jakob Bidermann, Jeremias Drexel
, and especially Jakob Balde
. Khuen's songbooks reflect the aims of the Bavarian Counter-Reformation
in their insistence on Marian, sanctoral, and Christological imagery; their vernacular poetry and folklike strophic melodies were designed for broad appeal.
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...
in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
.
Khuen, who was born in Moosach
Moosach
Moosach is a municipality in the Upper Bavarian district of Ebersberg and a member of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft of Glonn.- Geography :...
and studied with the Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
Jesuits in the early 1620s, spent his entire career in the Bavarian capital as a chaplain to the Wartenberg family and beneficiary at the church of St. Peter. Between 1635 and his death he published at least fifteen books of vernacular sacred songs, some in multiple editions, with simple melodies and thoroughbass accompaniment that mark a distinctive stage in the adoption of sacred monody
Monody
In poetry, the term monody has become specialized to refer to a poem in which one person laments another's death....
north of the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. All were published in Munich, and the relatively narrow distribution of extant exemplars suggests that they were primarily intended for a local or regional audience.
At least fifteen distinct titles attributable to Khuen appeared between 1635 and his death in 1675. Some of the larger compendia include the Epithalamium Marianum (1644), the Tabernacula pastorum (1650), the Munera pastorum (1651), and the Gaudia pastorum (1655). Khuen's poetry is closely related to that of the Munich "tract school" with which he was associated, and which included among its more prominent members the Munich court secretary Aegidius Albertinus and the Jesuits Jakob Bidermann, Jeremias Drexel
Jeremias Drexel
Jeremias Drexel S.J. was a Jesuit writer of devotional literature and a professor of the humanities and rhetoric...
, and especially Jakob Balde
Jakob Balde
Jakob Balde , a German Latinist, was born at Ensisheim in Alsace.Driven from Alsace by the marauding bands of Count Mansfeld, he fled to Ingolstadt where he began to study law. A love disappointment, however, turned his thoughts to the church, and in 1624 he entered the Society of Jesus...
. Khuen's songbooks reflect the aims of the Bavarian Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
in their insistence on Marian, sanctoral, and Christological imagery; their vernacular poetry and folklike strophic melodies were designed for broad appeal.