Johann Gottfried Müthel

Johann Gottfried Müthel ( born January 17, 1728 in Mölln, Lauenburg, † July 14, 1788 in Riga ) was a German harpsichordist, organist and composer.

Life

The first musical training received Müthel of his father, who worked as an organist in Mölln. His studies were then continued at the Lübeck organist Marie Johann Paul Kuntzen until Müthel finally accepted a post as court organist and chamber musician in the chapel of Duke Christian Ludwig II of Mecklenburg -Schwerin in 1747. His duties there included the training of the ducal children. For perfecting his musical skills Müthel was granted a holiday for the period of one year. This he began as one of the last students of Johann Sebastian Bach, in whose household he lived well. Although Bach already died three months after his arrival, Müthel could work intensively with whose work as a copyist of the already blind master.

After Bach's death Müthel furthered his education in Naumburg at his son in law Johann Christoph Altnikol, in Dresden, at the court of Frederick II in Berlin and Potsdam with the Müthel established a lifelong Penpal by the acquaintance with Johann Adolf Hasse, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and finally in Hamburg by the acquaintance with Georg Philipp Telemann. At the end of the leave year Müthel returned to the court of Mecklenburg -Schwerin. However, due to the provincialism of the court for him musically unsatisfactory situation prompted Müthel to accept an invitation of his brother to Riga, where he reinforced the house orchestra of the Livonian secret government council Otto Hermann von Vietinghoff. This was regarded as an important patron of the city, which promoted the public cultural life by organizing musical evenings and societies. On these occasions Müthel acquired so much recognition for his technical ability, that the organist of St. Peter's Cathedral, he was handed over to 1767. This position he retained held until his death. In Riga, he was a member of the Masonic Lodge " to sword."

In the last years of life Müthel pulled back more and more from public life, but seemed to still be comfortable in Riga, as he rejected several offers from Germany. The anecdote was known that he was finally only heard publicly as a pianist in the winter, since only then the snow muffled the rattle of passing cars to a tolerable level for the artist.

Importance

Müthel is attributed to the pre-classical period, whose representatives broke deliberately with the stylized forms of the Baroque and its counterpoint. Unlike many musicians who broke at the start time of the pre-classical period, succeeded Müthel to develop a new, expressive personality style. As a well-traveled man Müthel knew the musical style elements of his time and knew it musically to use. The time of his most important music critic Charles Burney especially emphasized Müthels originality. Another contemporary Müthels, the music critic Schubart, described his music as And about his technique " dark, dark, stubborn and unyielding to the fashion taste of his contemporaries. ": " Connoisseurs who heard him play, can not enough admire the ease with which he flouts mountain of trouble. " even if Müthels work in his lifetime gained only regional recognition in Riga, he was also appreciated by prominent contemporaries as Gottfried Herder and Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart for his musical and technical skills. That Johann Sebastian Bach - although already terminally ill - Müthel recorded as a student in his home in May 1750 can speak for the extraordinary talent of the student.

Work

The musical work Müthels comprises a comparatively small number of compositions, few of which were published for the lifetime of the composer. In addition to the complete works, there are many technical exercises, improvisation approaches and cadences. His work is marked by broken chords, tokkatenhaften themes, frequent and Einstimmigkeiten - in short, by the use of all technical possibilities, including the pedal solos. The main part of taking a instrumental compositions, while he has only occasionally composes vocal music. Remarkably, despite the Müthels organist activity low proportion of compositions for organ, which themselves are recorded only sketchy.

Organ Works

• Fantasy in G minor
• Fantasy in E flat major
• Fantasy in F major
• Chorale "Jesu, meine Freude"

More instrumental compositions

• Some Polonaises for Two Violins with and without flute and bass
• A flute sonata
• 44 small minuets and marches for music lovers
• At least nine piano sonatas (partial authorship disputed)
• Two ariosos with twelve variations
• Two Duets for Two Pianos
• Six great piano concertos with orchestra ( without a traditional finale )
• A concerto for two bassoons and orchestra

Vowels compositions

• A cantata
• A four-part drinking song