Christian Friedrich Witt

Christian Friedrich Witt ( * 1666 in Altenburg, † 3 or April 13, 1717 in Gotha ) was a German church musician and composer.

Life and work

Christian Friedrich Witt was the son of Altenburger court organist Johann Ernst Witt and was probably trained by his father. The Gotha court allowed him " to further education in Art" to stay in Salzburg and Vienna. Between 1685 and 1686, he was in Nuremberg, where he received instruction from Georg Caspar Wecker. In June 1686 he was in Gotha Kammerorganistam yard of Saxe- Gotha -Altenburg, in addition to the court organist Nicolaus grains, at a salary of 142 florins. In 1688 he was again a while with alarm clock in Nuremberg. In 1694 he received the appointment as Kapelldirektor, where he worked almost equal importance Kapellmeister Wolfgang Michael Mylius ( 1636-1712 ). After his death in 1713, Joachim Witt obtained the post of Kapellmeister. Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Mattheson describes Witt in foundations of honor - Gate ( 1740) as "a skillful conductor ". Among his famous students include, inter alia, Jerome Florentinus Quehl.

Work

Witt wrote more than 70 cantatas, and was in 1715 the Psalmodia Sacra out, which contains 762 hymns, of the Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg wrote that it was the "best musicalische hymnal that I know ." In addition, he composed keyboard music and instrumental works, including several concerti, overtures and suites in the French style and seven when sonatas called concerti grossi in the Italian style. From Witt the melody of the hymn Decorates comes with cords (EC 135).

His composition " Passacaglia in D " was to the 19th century as a work of JS Bach ( BWV Anh 182).