Christian Heinrich Postel

Christian Heinrich Postel ( born October 11, 1658 Freiburg / Elbe, † March 22, 1705 in Hamburg ) was a lawyer, poet and opera librettist epic.

Life

Christian Heinrich Postel was the son of evangelical pastor Lorenz Postel († November 3, 1696 ) and his wife Dorothea Postel, born Isentrut. His father was appointed in 1675 to the Hamburg Church of Holy Spirit. By Wohnortwechel Christian Heinrich Postel now visited the Hamburg Gelehrtenschule of Johanneums. 1680 he enrolled at the University of Leipzig to study law under Christian Thomasius. A plague drove him to the University of Rostock, where he was able to complete his studies as a Licentiate of Laws on 10 May in 1683. With his fellow student, later theologians and historians Jacob von Melle, he traveled for six months, the Netherlands, England and France. Melles later printed travel diary testifies to the diverse interests of both students, especially foreign universities and libraries.

Back in Hamburg, Postel opened a legal practice, which he acquired wealth and recognition in society. His varied interests gained him a reputation as a scholar. After the opening of the opera at the goose market in 1678 gave him the opportunity to be active as a librettist. From 1688 to 1702 Postel wrote a total of 28 works for the Opera House.

A second educational journey took Postel between 17 January and 15 September 1700 in Switzerland and to Italy, where he recorded contacts with the Italian academies and their scholars. Back in Hamburg, he tried to work on his historical epic to end the great Wittekind, but the death of his friend Gerhard Schott in 1702 weighed him. The epic was only published posthumously in 1724 by Christian Friedrich soft man.

Christian Heinrich Postel died in 1705 of tuberculosis.

Position

Postel worked in a time history of opera in the 17th century, which was dominated by the influence of Italian and French opera. Sign of this was the creation of the German venues in Hamburg (1678: Opera at the goose market ), Braunschweig ( 1690: Opera House on Hagenmarkt ) and Leipzig ( 1693: Leipzig Opera House ). Postel was - among his colleagues Heinrich Elmenhorst, Barthold enemy and Christian Friedrich Hunold - Write a wealth of librettos, in which he developed his own form and had to withdraw the word.

Contemporary composers such as Johann Georg Conradi, Johann Philipp Foertsch, Reinhard Keiser, Johann Sigismund Kusser and Georg Philipp Telemann, appreciated the elegant, easily composable libretti Christian Heinrich Postel was considered one of the most popular and most sought after opera poet Hamburg. As a poetic virtuoso piece for his paraphrase of Campistrons tragedy Achille et Polixène for the performance of the eponymous opera by Lully and Colasse 1692 appears; such a close Franco- German adaptation stands in the history of music unique.

Works (selection)

  • The Holy Eugenia, or the conversion of the city of Alexandria to Christianity. Composition by Johann Philipp Foertsch; UA 1688. Pressure 1695
  • Cain and Abel, or the verzweiflende brother - killer. Composition by Johann Philipp Foertsch; UA 1689th
  • The saddened and delighted Cimbria. Composition by Johann Philipp Foertsch; UA 1689th
  • Xerxes at Abydos.
  • The wholesale Mighty Thalestris, or Last Queen of the Amazons. Composition by Johann Philipp Foertsch; UA year 1690.
  • Bajazet and Tamerlane. Composition by Johann Philipp Foertsch; UA year 1690.
  • The beautiful and faithful Ariadne.
  • Diogenes Cynicus.
  • The Verstöhrung Jerusalem. Part I ( capture of the Temple ).
  • The Verstöhrung Jerusalem. Part II ( conquest of the castle ).
  • The unfortunate love of Achilles and the Polixena.
  • The Great King of the African Apply Gensericus.
  • The Royal Printz from Pohlen Zikmund.
  • The Wunderbar Hilarious Pygmalion.
  • The wholesale Mühtige Scipio Africanus.
  • Medea.
  • The Happy - regained Hermione.
  • The beloved Adonis.
  • The bey the general world - peace of the Great Augustus closed the temple of Janus.
  • The Hyperboreen from over matched by Cymbrien golden apple.
  • The wonderfully - saved Iphigenia.
  • The Beautiful psyche.

List of Works

  • Gerhard Dünnhaupt Christian Heinrich Postel ( 1658-1705 ). In: Personal bibliographies on the printing of the Baroque. Vol 4, Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1991, pp. 3128-3144, ISBN 3-7772-9122-6

Literature (selection )

  • Jacob von Melle, Christian Henrich Postel: description of a journey through the north-western Germany, to the Netherlands and England in 1683 from a manuscript of Lübeckischen City Library edited by Headteacher Dr. Carl Curtius. . Borchers, 1891 Lübeck ( Lübeck program Catharineum 1891), online.
  • Julius Elias: Postel, Christian Heinrich. In: General German Biography (ADB ). Volume 26, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1888, pp. 465-473.
  • Dian Igor Lindberg: Literary Aspects of German Baroque Opera. History, theory, and practice. Christian Heinrich Postel and Barthold enemy. Diss Univ. of California, Los Angeles in 1964.
  • Solveig Olsen: Christian Heinrich Postel's contribution to German literature. Attempt a representation ( = Amsterdam publications on language and literature 7, ISSN 0169-0221 ). Rodopi, Amsterdam 1973.
  • Bodo Plachta: Postel, Christian Heinrich. In: New German Biography ( NDB ). Volume 20, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-428-00201-6, p 656 ( digitized ).
  • Erich Vilter: The Epic technology in Chr H. Postel's epic poem " The big Wittekind ". A contribution to the history of Renaissanceepen. Kaestner, Göttingen 1899 (Dissertation, University of Göttingen, 1898).
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