Nicolaus Bruhns
Nicolaus (also: Nicholas) Bruhns (sometimes Bruhn or Bruns, * December 1665 in Schwabstedt; † 29 March 1697 in Husum ) was a composer of the north German organ school and an organ and violin virtuoso. His work includes handed down four complete works for organ and twelve sacred cantatas and contains some exceptional original pieces.
- 3.1 organ
- 3.2 vocal work 3.2.1 By Composed Concerts
- 3.2.2 Number Concerts
- 3.2.3 Choral Concert
- 4.1 Musical influence
- 4.2 Modern Rediscovery
Life
Bruhns was born into a musical family in Schleswig-Holstein. His grandfather Paul was a lutenist and music masters in the chapel of Duke Gottorp. Nicholas ' uncle Friedrich Nicolaus Bruhns was director of the Hamburg Ratsmusik. Nicolaus ' father Paul - possibly a pupil of Franz Tunder - was organist in Schwabstedt, where he married the daughter of his predecessor.
The career of Nicolaus Bruhns has survived only in fragments.
Lübeck and Copenhagen
Nicholas received his first lessons from his father probably. As Ernst Ludwig Gerber wrote later in his Dictionary of Musicians, he mastered at an early age to play the organ and made "good" compositions for piano and voice at. Probably had also musical impressions from neighboring Husum, probably the richest city in the North Frisian coast, one on him. Nicolaus showed enough talent to learn on the advice of his father at age 16 with his uncle Peter, Council musician in Lübeck, violin and viola da gamba. On these instruments, he earned " such a capability, had that anyone who only heard him and came to know admire and appreciate him, " ( Gerber ). Of all the Lübeck violinist - whose craftsmanship was admired at home and abroad - Bruhns was the youngest representative. In addition, he was the favorite pupil of Dietrich Buxtehude, where he studied composition and organ playing his perfected. According to Mattheson's music lexicon was Buxtehude Bruhns ' greatest role model.
After Bruhns was traveling some time in the surrounding region, he obtained thanks to a to the organist of the Copenhagen Nicolai Church, Johann Lorenz the Younger, directed recommendation letter from Buxtehude a job as a composer and violinist at the local court - such trips in the northern countries came under Lübeck musicians before many a time. His later brother Johann Hermann Hesse, who had relations in Copenhagen, helped him on this trip. Bruhns remained in Copenhagen a few years; The exact circumstances of his stay is unknown. Permanent employees: Bruhns was not deemed safe, however, that he was deputy organist of Lorenz. Probably he came as an organ and violin virtuoso in its vaunted evening concerts and at the royal court.
Husum
After the death of the old organist Friedrich Linden to the - now defunct - Husum city church in January 1689, the City Council wanted the already -down to a certain fame Bruhns offer this point. Since you did not know where he was staying, the post was occupied on a temporary basis, and the city fathers tried to make Bruhns identified. This was done in a hurry - even at night there was a courier to Schwabstedt go to get his address from the father or brother. There may be other competing cities for the talented musicians interested. After a trial match on March 29 in Husum he was finally adopted unanimously, " because before his peers of compositions and Traktierung all kinds of instruments in this city was not heard ." With his appointment as organist Bruhns married Anna Dorothea Hesse, the stepsister his aunt.
Three months later, the Kiel City Council offered him a job as a successor to the former organist of the St. Nikolai church Claus Dengel, which led to a heated argument between the two cities. Bruhns, intimidated by one of Kiel " by certain pretexts " fueled intrigue, traveled on July 22 of the year there and promised to take up his post in three weeks. After the town of Husum, the felt hurt in her honor, had promised Bruhns annually as sole organist an increase in the paid salary by 100 to 500 dollars, he remained in Husum. With the change of the Husum Deputies in 1691 Bruhns was against the will of the City Council denied the extraordinary salary increase. He handed the Duke Gottorp a lawsuit, which he also won. In his letter, the Duke hinted that Bruhns needed the money urgently.
In addition to the restored 1629 by Gottfried Fritsch organ Bruhns was also the vocal choir of the church available. For two years he worked with the local cantor Georg Ferber, who was known for his ausnehmende bass voice and was eventually replaced by Peter Steinbrecher. The management of the instrumental ensembles took over the town musician Heinrich Pape.
Receipt of Georg Bruhns, the brother of Nicolaus
Until his early death at the age of 31 years Bruhns remained in Husum. On April 2, 1697, he was carried to his grave, " regretted by everyone that such an admirable master in his profession, also contract more slowly man no longer has to live ." According to the Church Archives of the City Bruhns died of "consumption ".
Bruhns, leaving five children who were taken by his brother- in paternal care; his only son later studied theology. Nicholas had a brother, George, who took office in Husum. However, are known from this neither compositions nor evidence of a historical aftereffect, so with Nicolaus went out the history of the family of musicians Bruhns.
Game art
Bruhns was far beyond the city limits of Husum addition, as an organ and violin virtuoso. As Mattheson reported that he had now and then at the same time and played violin at the organ with pedal bass. Gerber reported 1790/92, that he had even sung while so that his playing sounded like several people. Maybe Bruhns led his cantata My heart is on this way.
Bruhns said to have had on the violin, a technique that allowed him to play aushaltende four-part chords. Albert Schweitzer leads in his monograph on Johann Sebastian Bach in the discussion of Bach's solo violin sonatas Bruhns as a proof that in the period before and up Bach polyphonic play possible on the violin without the usual day interval decompositions or arpeggios and customary had been.
The surviving work does not allow any conclusions to be drawn which also reported by Gerber skill in gamba playing, but there are indications may be in the compositions of Buxtehude: Probably Buxtehude wrote his cantata Jubilate Domino for alto and obbligato viola da gamba for Bruhns and saw him as a gamba soloist of the cantata gene sky before. If this is true, as the virtuoso runs the viol voices would prove that the viol was not just a side instrument of Bruhns.
Work
Due to his early death, only four complete works for organ and twelve sacred cantatas are clearly narrated by Bruhns. He also wrote chamber music that has been lost, however.
Dude characterized Bruhns as a composer " with the passion of an artist who is not above his work, but rises in him." Bruhns ' compositions are determined to a large extent on their desired emotional effect, which prevails over the formal aspects.
Organ
In Quantz's attempt at a statement ... Bruhns was counted among the best writers of organ works of his time. Three as " Prelude " and " Prelude and Fugue" designated Toccatas, as well as a Fantasia on the chorale Nun komm der Heiden Heiland come with security of Bruhns.
The organ works have typical features of the North German organ style: contrast of homophonic and fugal sections, Arpeggii and virtuosic passages with pedal trills. Remarkable are the bold harmony and nested rhythms. Bruhns exploiting all freedoms of the Stylus Phantasticus to create emotionally rich, sometimes bitter and almost "modern" sounding compositions. Since the fast runs of the Preludes clear and precise rhythms - sometimes using the double pedal - require, they make high demands on the performer.
" Great " Prelude in E Minor - Sample (Info ) score
" Little " Prelude in E Minor - Sample and Score
Prelude in G major
Choral Fantasy: Come der Heiden Heiland
Vocal work
Bruhns ' vocal work can be roughly divided into three categories. Constitute a part of the through-composed concerts, which consist of only one continuous piece and apply the text of the scriptures unchanged. The other great part is the numbered concerts - as well as the cantata in the narrow sense - consist of several sentences and paraphrase the original texts. They use all the techniques that find use in the opera, like ritornelli, arias, duets, trios and choirs. Finally, a conceived as a Lutheran hymn chorale cantata handed.
Bruhns combined stylistic elements of two opposing musical genres, namely the embossed contactor spiritual concert and the hitherto largely secular music Madrigals reserved. Just as the compositions for organ witness the vocal works by a large sense of the emotional impact.
Some of the works require more instrumental, others more vocal sovereignty. Likewise, there are fugal sections, combine the instrumental and vocal parts, such as in the cantata joyful noise unto the Lord. This suggests that Bruhns voices and instruments largely regarded as a unit. The instrumentation is, however, quite limited, which is likely related to that Bruhns received no opportunity for training in this regard.
Only occasionally is the original title of the vocal works - such as " Madrigal " ( Inhibits your tears flood ) or " Canzon spirituale " (O cheaper heil'ger mind) - delivered. Today they are commonly grouped under the term " cantatas ". A dating is only a rough and occasionally possible. The order of the works discussed in more detail below follows the complete edition.
By Composed Concerts
The time of my departure is present
The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth
De profundis
My heart is ready
Number Concerts
Blessed is the man who fears the men
Paratum cor meum
I lie down and sleep
Do not man
O cheaper heil'ger spirit
Inhibits your tears flood
Choral concert
Risen is the holy Christian
Fragmentary and uncertain plants
A Prelude in G minor, similar long as the little E minor Prelude, was discovered in 1970. The prelude makes use of parallel movements on the keyboard which alternate with a pedal solo. A short Adagio, which ends with a pedal point, initiates the swinging joint. The conclusion is unexpected in the form of a repeated chord. Kollmannsperger writes this prelude Arnold Matthias Brunckhorst to. Evidence of an alien 's authorship is - compared to the other organ works Bruhns ' - rather simple structure of the composition. The author is the only source with Mons: Prunth. specified.
From another organ works of Bruhns, a Prelude in D Major, only an adagio section is preserved.
Eitner still wrote the cantata How lovely is your dwelling place and the Madrigal Satan and his turmoil Nicolaus Bruhns to. As the author of the former, however, his uncle Friedrich Nicolaus was detected with high probability. The second consists must be agreed for stylistic reasons Bruhns; presumably it originates also from the Hamburg town musicians.
Aftereffect
Musical influence
Whether and how Nicolaus Bruhns has influenced the later Baroque music directly, can not be clearly established given the scarcity of sources. A document in which it appears his name, is a 1775 authored by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, letter to Johann Nikolaus Forkel, seen briefly from the that his father Johann Sebastian the organ works of several North German composers - loved and some French composers " - including Bruhns and is said to have studied ". Like he wrote in 1754 in his obituary on Johann Sebastian Bach. The reason was probably Johann Sebastian in access to so-called Möller 's handwriting and Andreas Bach book by his older brother Johann Christoph Bach and piano teacher. This music collections contain Bruhns ' Preludes in E minor and the Prelude in G Major. Riedel examined possible formal similarities in the work Bruhns ' and Bach. Although some of Bach's early works contain motifs that have a superficial resemblance to those of Bruhns. As these, however, were widely used at that time, no conclusive link between the works of the two musicians can be made.
About the vocal work, no references are known. However, several musicologists followed Stein's representation of Bruhns as one of the composers who paved the way for the madrigal cantata; this is disputed by Webber.
Modern Rediscovery
In the 1930s the first modern biographical research on Bruhns were operated. Back then, you knew from the factory only four of the organ toccatas and a bass solo cantata. Stone published in 1939, the first complete edition of the work as " original text ". As with most North German masters even at Bruhns both secured autographem source material as well as on multiple traditions so have to rely on single copies, as they were made among others by Agricola, Walther and Austria it is lacking. Recent editions of the works try to take this into account and to correct any errors in the resulting transcript.
Nicolaus Bruhns is briefly in a section of the amendment Renate (1878 ) Native Husumers and music friend Theodor Storm mentioned in the nightly organ by Georg Bruhns is utilized atmospheric poetic. Life and work of the composer form the basis for the novel Midnight by Andreas Nohr
Husum was the seat of now-defunct Nicolaus Bruhns - Society eV, which was founded in 1947 following a transmitted from broadcasting Bruhns concert under the direction of Kurt Rienecker. Chairman were Rienecker and Walter Rath; Fritz Stein was an honorary chairman of the company, which had its own choir and an orchestra and conducted more than 100 musical events featuring works by Bruhns and other composers.
Existed in 1965, only three recordings, the selection has grown to Media releases by Bruhns ' works now considerably - including supplies high-grade, excellent music magazines interpretations. The organ works were relatively common, as complete recordings published. The vocal works, however, less attention has been paid: In addition to several publications of individual pieces, there are only a total recording on CD.