Eighteenth Century Scandinavian Composers, Vol. X

Eighteenth Century Scandinavian Composers, Vol. X

By Daniel Zimmermann

Chapter One

Danish Composers

Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse (1774-1842)

Weyse first saw the light of day in Altona, a city in Holstein. However, while his birthplace is currently part of Germany, it was Danish territory when Weyse was born.

When he was fifteen years old, he settled permanently in Copenhagen. After studying under Johann Abraham Peter Schulz, he served as organist in the Garrison Church. In 1805 he became organist at Vor Frue Kirke, which became the Copenhagen cathedral in the twentieth century.

Evidently the king liked his music. He was appointed court composer in 1819.

Later in life, he enjoyed a few honors. He was accepted as a member of the Swedish Academy of Music in 1830, and in 1842 the University of Copenhagen gave him an honorary doctoral degree.

He composed singspiels and incidental music for plays. The overture and a very beautiful Romance from The Sleeping Draught may be heard online.

He also composed music for several poems of Matthias Claudius, Johann Heinrich Voss, and others. So far I have not found any of them online.

His sacred music included many cantatas. In Germany, cantatas were usually performed during the church service. In contrast, Weyse’s cantatas were performed after the service had come to an end.

He also composed Christmas carols, a Te Deum, and a Miserere.

His beautiful Symphony No. 1 in g minor may be heard online. Especially appealing is its first movement, an Allegro con spirito.

The second movement Andante of his Symphony No. 7 in E flat major is especially interesting. It begins with an exceptionally beautiful melody that is eventually subjected to protean transformations.

Also online are his Symphony No. 2 in C major, Symphony No. 3 in D major, Symphony No. 4 in e minor, Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, and Symphony No. 6 in c minor. All have four movements, including a very interesting first movement.

We may also hear a modern recording of his Piano Sonata No. 8 in g minor, his Christmas Cantata No. 3, his Easter Cantata No. 1, and a sonata for two bassoons.

Since I have not yet learned Danish, I shall not comment on the contents of the cantatas, except to mention that one of the songs of the Christmas cantata uses the melody of Luther’s A Mighty Fortress Is our God. However, the cantata applies this melody to lyrics that are suitable for Christmas. The text begins with the words O Himmelbarn, which designate the Christ-child.

Friedrich Ludwig Aemilius Kunzen (1761-1817)

Kunzen was born in Lübeck, a free imperial city in the Holy Roman Empire.

He had a musical grandfather named Johann Paul Kunzen (1696-1757), who had served as a composer for the Hamburg opera. Adolph Carl Kunzen, his father, was an organist in a Lübeck