Franz (
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
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** Czech culture
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* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech ...
: František) Xaver Richter, known as ''François Xavier Richter'' in France (December 1, 1709 – September 12, 1789) was an Austro-Moravian singer, violinist, composer, conductor and music theoretician who spent most of his life first in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
and later in
Mannheim and in Strasbourg, where he was music director of the cathedral. From 1783 on
Haydn’s favourite pupil
Ignaz Pleyel
Ignace Joseph Pleyel (; ; 18 June 1757 – 14 November 1831) was an Austrian-born French composer, music publisher and piano builder of the Classical period.
Life Early years
He was born in in Lower Austria, the son of a schoolmaster named Ma ...
was his deputy at the cathedral.
The most traditional of the first generation composers of the so-called Mannheim school, he was highly regarded in his day as a contrapuntist. As a composer he was equally at home in the concerto and the strict church style.
Mozart heard a mass by Richter on his journey back from Paris to Salzburg in 1778 and called it ''charmingly written''. Richter, as a contemporary engraving clearly shows, must have been one of the first conductors to actually have conducted with a music sheet roll in his hand.
Richter wrote chiefly
symphonies
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning co ...
, concertos for woodwinds, trumpet,
chamber
Chamber or the chamber may refer to:
In government and organizations
*Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests
*Legislative chamber, in politics
*Debate chamber, the space or room that houses deliber ...
and church music, his masses receiving special praise. He was a man of a transitional period, and his symphonies in a way constitute one of the missing links between the generation of
Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
and
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training ...
and the '1st Viennese school' . Although sometimes contrapuntal in a learned way, Richter's orchestral works nevertheless exhibit considerable drive and verve. Until a few years ago, Richter’s music "survived" with recordings of his trumpet concerto in D major, but recently a number of chamber orchestras and ensembles have taken on many of his pieces, particularly symphonies and concertos, into their repertoire. He was also on friendly terms with Haydn and Mozart.
Biography
1709–1739 Origins and education
Franz Xaver Richter was probably born in
Holleschau (now
Holešov
Holešov (; german: Holleschau, he, העלשויא) is a town in Kroměříž District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre with the castle complex is well preserved and is protecte ...
),
Moravia (then part of the
Habsburg monarchy, now the
Czech Republic), although this is not entirely certain. There is no record of his birth in the Holleschau church register. In his employment contract with the Prince Abbot of Kempten it says that he hailed from
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohe ...
. The musicologist
Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg
Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg (21 November 1718 – 22 May 1795) was a German music critic, music theorist and composer. He was friendly and active with many figures of the Enlightenment of the 18th century.
Life
Little is known of Marpurg's earl ...
has Richter being from
Hungarian descent and on his Strasbourg death certificate it says: "ex
Kratz oriundus".
Although his whereabouts until 1740 are nowhere documented, it is clear that Richter got a very thorough training in counterpoint and that this took place using the influential counterpoint treatise ''Gradus ad Parnassum'' by
Johann Josef Fux; Richter may even have been Fux's pupil in Vienna. Richter's lifelong mastery of the strict church style which is particularly evident in his liturgical works but also shines through in his symphonies and chamber music, is testimony to his roots in the Austrian and south German Baroque music.
1740–1747 Vize-Kapellmeister in Kempten
On April 2, 1740 Richter was appointed deputy Kapellmeister (''Vize-Kapellmeister'') to the
Prince-Abbot Anselm von Reichlin-Meldeg of
Kempten
Kempten (, (Swabian German: )) is the largest town of Allgäu, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. The population was about 68,000 in 2016. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later taken over by the Romans, who called the town ...
in
Allgäu
The Allgäu (Standard German: , also Allgovia) is a region in Swabia in southern Germany. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia, southeastern Baden-Württemberg, and parts of Austria. The region stretches from the pre-alpine lands up to the Alp ...
. Reichlin Meldeg as Prince Abbot presided over the Fürststift Kempten, a large
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, found ...
Monastery in what is now south-western
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. The monastery certainly would have had a choir and probably a small orchestra (rather a ''band'', as it was called then), as well, but this must have been a small affair. Richter stayed in Kempten for six years but it is hard to imagine that a man of his education and talents would have liked the idea of spending the rest of his life in this scenically beautiful but otherwise completely parochial town.
In February 1743 Richter married Maria Anna Josepha Moz, who was probably from Kempten. Twelve of Richter's symphonies for strings were published in Paris in the year 1744. It is assumed that Richter left Kempten already before the death of Reichlin-Meldeg in December 1747.
1747–1768 Singer and ''Cammercompositeur'' in Mannheim
Just how much Richter must have disliked Kempten can be deduced from the fact that in 1747 his name appears among the court musicians of the
Prince elector Charles Theodore in Mannheim – but not as music director or in any other leading function but as a simple singer (bass). Obviously Richter preferred being one among many (singers and orchestra combine numbered more than 70 persons) in Mannheim to acting deputy Kapellmeister in a small town like Kempten.
Because of his old fashioned, even reactionary music style Richter was not popular in Mannheim. The title awarded to him in 1768 as ''Cammercompositeur'' (chamber composer) seems to have been merely an honorary one. He was slightly more successful as a composer of sacred music and as music theoretician. In 1748 the Elector commissioned him to compose an oratorio for
Good Friday, ''La deposizione dalla croce''. It is sometimes concluded that this oratorio was not a success as there was only one performance and Richter was never commissioned to write another one.
Richter was also a respected teacher of composition. Between 1761 and 1767 he wrote a treatise on composition (''Harmonische Belehrungen oder gründliche Anweisung zu der musikalischen Ton-Kunst oder regulären Komposition''), based on Fux's ''Gradus ad Parnassum'' – the only representative of the Mannheim School to do so. The lengthy work in three tomes is dedicated to Charles Theodore. Among his more notable pupils were
Joseph Martin Kraus
Joseph Martin Kraus (20 June 1756 – 15 December 1792), was a German-Swedish composer in the Classical era who was born in Miltenberg am Main, Germany. He moved to Sweden at age 21, and died at the age of 36 in Stockholm. He has been referred ...
, probably
Carl Stamitz
Carl Philipp Stamitz ( cs, Karel Stamic; baptized 8 May 17459 November 1801) was a German composer of partial Czech ancestry. He was the most prominent representative of the second generation of the Mannheim School.
He was the eldest son of Jo ...
and
Ferdinand Fränzl.
After 1768 Richter's name disappears from the lists of court singers. During his Mannheim years Richter made tours to the
Oettingen-Wallerstein
The House of Oettingen was a high-rank noble Franconian and Swabian family. It ruled various estates that composed the County of Oettingen between the 12th century and the beginning of the 19th century. In 1674 the house was raised to the rank of p ...
court in 1754 and later to France, the Netherlands and England where his compositions found a ready market with publishers.
It seems clear from Richter's compositions that he did not really fit in at the Mannheim court. Whereas his colleagues in the orchestra were interested in lively, energetic, homophonic music that focused on drive, brilliancy and sparkling orchestral effects gained from stock devices, Richter, rooted in the Austrian Baroque tradition, wrote music that was in a way reminiscent of Handel and his teacher Fux. Thus, when in 1769 an opening at Strasbourg's cathedral became known Richter seems to have applied right away.
1769–1789 Maitre de Chapelle de Notre-Dame de Strasbourg
In April 1769 he succeeded Joseph Garnier as Kapellmeister at
Strasbourg Cathedral, where both his performing and composing activities turned increasingly to sacred music. He was by then recognized as a leading contrapuntist and church composer.
Johann Sebastian Bach's first biographer, composer and musicologist
Johann Nikolaus Forkel
Johann Nikolaus Forkel (22 February 1749 – 20 March 1818) was a German musicologist and music theorist, generally regarded as among the founders of modern musicology. His publications include '' Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Wo ...
, wrote about Richter in 1782:
:"Ist ein sehr guter Contrapunktist und Kirchenkomponist." ("Is a very good contrapuntist and church composer.")
In Strasbourg Richter also had to direct the concerts at the Episcopal court (today Palais Rohan); in addition to that he was for a time also in charge of the town concerts which were held at regular intervals. The main part of Richter's sacred music was composed during his Strasbourg years. He was active as a composer until his last year. During his last years Haydn's favourite pupil Ignaz Pleyel served as his assistant at the cathedral.
In 1787 he visited
Munich, where he met Mozart's father
Leopold one last time. In Munich he met most of his former colleagues of the Mannheim court orchestra who by then had moved to Munich to where the court had been transferred.
From 1783 on, and due to Richter's advanced age and declining health,
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
's favourite pupil
Ignaz Pleyel
Ignace Joseph Pleyel (; ; 18 June 1757 – 14 November 1831) was an Austrian-born French composer, music publisher and piano builder of the Classical period.
Life Early years
He was born in in Lower Austria, the son of a schoolmaster named Ma ...
served as his assistant. He would succeed him at the post after his death.
Richter died, aged 79, at
Strasbourg, in the year of the
French Revolution. Thus he did not have to witness his deputy Ignaz Pleyel being forced to write hymns to praise the supreme being and the death by
guillotine of
Jean-Frédéric Edelmann, a gifted composer from Strasbourg.
1770 Richter meets Marie Antoinette
In 1770
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child and ...
, future queen of France, on her way from Vienna to Paris passed through the Alsatian capital, where she stayed at the
Episcopal Palace, the Palais Rohan. Richter, who almost certainly directed the church music when Marie Antoinette went to mass the next day, witnessed the earliest stages of historical events that would later contribute to the downfall of the French monarchy. The prelate who greeted Marie Antoinette on the steps of the cathedral, probably in Richter's presence, was the same
Louis Rohan who would later, duped by a prostitute impersonating Marie Antoinette, trigger the
Affair of the Diamond Necklace
The Affair of the Diamond Necklace (, "Affair of the Queen's Necklace") was an incident from 1784 to 1785 at the court of King Louis XVI of France that involved his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette.
The Queen's reputation, already tarnished by gossi ...
. Several historians and writers think that this bizarre episode undermined the trust of the French in their queen and thus hastened the onset of the French Revolution.
But Richter did not live to see this. What he saw was Strasbourg all dressed up to greet the Dauphiness:
:"The city of Strasburg was in gala array. It had prepared for the dauphiness the splendours it had displayed 25 years before for the journey of Louis the Well-beloved. (...) Three companies of young children from twelve to fifteen years of age, habited as ''Cent-Suisses'', formed the line along the passage of the princess. Twenty-four young girls of the most distinguished families of Strasbourg, dressed in the national costume, strewed flowers before her; and eighteen shepherds and shepherdesses presented her with baskets of flowers. (...)
:On the following day (May 8, 1770) Marie Antoinette visited the cathedral. By a strange coincidence the prelate who awaited her with the chapter at the entrance to felicitate her, and who greeted her "the soul of Maria Theresa about to unite itself to the soul of the Bourbons", was the nephew of the bishop, that prince, Louis de Rohan, who was later to inflict upon the dauphiness, become queen, the deadliest of injuries. But in the midst of the then so brilliant prospect who could discern these shadows?"
1778 Richter meets Mozart
Both
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his father
Leopold knew Richter. Mozart would have met him still as a boy on his Family Grand tour in 1763 when the Mozart family came through Schwetzingen, the summer residence of the Elector Palatinate.
Mozart met him once again in 1778 on his way back from Paris when he was headed for the unloved Salzburg after his plans to gain permanent employment in Mannheim or Paris had come to naught. In a letter to his father, dated November 2, 1778, Mozart seems to suggest that the by then elderly Richter was something of an alcoholic:
::"Strasbourg can scarcely do without me. You cannot think how much I am esteemed and beloved here. People say that I am disinterested as well as steady and polite, and praise my manners. Everyone knows me. As soon as they heard my name, the two Herrn Silbermann
Andreas_Silbermann_
Andreas_Silbermann_(16_May_1678_–_16_March_1734)_was_a_German_organ_builder,_who_was_involved_in_the_construction_of_35_organs,_mostly_in_Alsace._Andreas_also_established_the_Silbermann_family_tradition_of_organ_building,_training_his_brother_Go_...
_and_:de:Johann_Andreas_Silbermann.html" "title=":de:Andreas_Silbermann.html" "title=". e. :de:Andreas Silbermann">Andreas Silbermann
Andreas Silbermann (16 May 1678 – 16 March 1734) was a German organ builder, who was involved in the construction of 35 organs, mostly in Alsace. Andreas also established the Silbermann family tradition of organ building, training his brother Go ...