Philipp Heinrich Erlebach
Encyclopedia
Philipp Heinrich Erlebach (25 July 1657 in Esens
/Ostfriesland - 17 April 1714 in Rudolstadt
(Thuringia
)) was a German Baroque
composer
.
, the principality where the younger Erlebach received his early musical training.
Based on his musical abilities, Erlebach was loaned out to the court of Prince Albrecht Anton of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (born 2 Feb 1641; died 24 June 1710), count of the larger principality of Thuringia
, in 1678. In 1681, he was named to the post of Choirmaster (Kapellmeister) to the Thuringian Court, a position he held for 33 years, until his death.
s, cantata
s, Masses and oratorios
.
Erlebach was a prolific composer, but most of his works (over 1000 compositions), which had been acquired by the court from Erlebach's widow after his death, were destroyed in 1735 during a fire in Rudolstadt. This caused Erlebach’s music to be almost completely forgotten. Only 70 compositions (about 7 percent of his working output) survived, some only in handwritten manuscript form, which later had to be transcribed. Much of his posterity is dependent upon published editions of his works.
About 90 of his sacred cantatas still exist, out of a total of more than 400. The destroyed material also included 24 Mass
es and at least six complete cycles of cantatas for the Lutheran church year. Erlebach also composed secular vocal music and song, included in a 1697 published collection titled "Harmonische Freude musicalischer Freunde," which contains over 75 such pieces. From the more than 120 instrumental works Erlebach is known to have produced, only 13 pieces survive.
Esens
Esens is a municipality in the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the North Sea coast, approx. 14 km northwest of Wittmund, and 20 km northeast of Aurich....
/Ostfriesland - 17 April 1714 in Rudolstadt
Rudolstadt
Rudolstadt is a town in the German Bundesland of Thuringia, close to the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north....
(Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
)) was a German Baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
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...
.
Life
Erlebach was the son of Johann Philipp Erlebach, a musician at the court of Count Ulrich II of Ostfriesland (born 6 July, 1605; died 1 November, 1648) in East FrisiaEast Frisia
East Frisia or Eastern Friesland is a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony....
, the principality where the younger Erlebach received his early musical training.
Based on his musical abilities, Erlebach was loaned out to the court of Prince Albrecht Anton of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (born 2 Feb 1641; died 24 June 1710), count of the larger principality of Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, in 1678. In 1681, he was named to the post of Choirmaster (Kapellmeister) to the Thuringian Court, a position he held for 33 years, until his death.
Works
His compositions include orchestral and chamber music, operaOpera
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, cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
s, Masses and oratorios
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...
.
Erlebach was a prolific composer, but most of his works (over 1000 compositions), which had been acquired by the court from Erlebach's widow after his death, were destroyed in 1735 during a fire in Rudolstadt. This caused Erlebach’s music to be almost completely forgotten. Only 70 compositions (about 7 percent of his working output) survived, some only in handwritten manuscript form, which later had to be transcribed. Much of his posterity is dependent upon published editions of his works.
About 90 of his sacred cantatas still exist, out of a total of more than 400. The destroyed material also included 24 Mass
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...
es and at least six complete cycles of cantatas for the Lutheran church year. Erlebach also composed secular vocal music and song, included in a 1697 published collection titled "Harmonische Freude musicalischer Freunde," which contains over 75 such pieces. From the more than 120 instrumental works Erlebach is known to have produced, only 13 pieces survive.
Surviving works
- VI Ouvertures begleitet mit … Airs nach französischer Art, a 5, 6, 1693
- Six sonatas for violin, viola da gamba and continuo, 1694
- March from Musicalia bei dem Actu homagiali Mulhusino
- Harmonische Freude musicalischer Freunde, 1697, 1710
- vol. 1: 50 arias
- vol. 2: 25 arias
- Josephs neuer Kaiserthron: Serenade from Musicalia bei dem Actu homagiali Mulhusino, 1705
- 19 other arias
Texts
- Bernd BaseltBernd BaseltBernd Baselt was a German musical scholar noted for his works on the composer Handel. He was a professor of music at the University of Halle....
and Dorothea Schroeder's article in New Grove Dictionary of Music - Bernd Baselt: Der Rudolstädter Hofkapellmeister Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, (1963)
- Bernd Baselt: Die Musikaliensammlung der Schwarzburg-Rudolstädtischen Hofkapelle unter Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, Traditionen und Aufgaben der hallischen Musikwissenschaft, (1963), 105-134