Leopold von Kalckreuth - Porträt Friedrich Chrysander (1901)

Karl Franz Friedrich Chrysander (8 July 1826 – 3 September 1901) was a German music historian, critic and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, whose edition of the works of George Frideric Handel and authoritative writings on many other composers established him as a pioneer of 19th-century musicology.

Biography

Born at Lübtheen, in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Chrysander was the son of a

miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalent ...

. He earned a Doctorate in Philosophy from the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...

in 1853. He then focused his studies on music, and in an obituary for Chrysander in October 1901, the '' Musical Times'' said of him that :"From the beginning he assumed the role of an historian in rigorously defending the right and claims of musical masterpieces of a distant past to a legitimate and faithful reproduction, i.e., without modernising, and without instrumental or vocal additions." Chrysander is also credited with rediscovering the autograph score of

Johann Sebastian 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 ...

's '' Mass in B Minor,'' which he then sold to the Royal Library in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, generously doing so only for the same sum that he himself paid for it. He also edited the music of many other composers, including (in collaboration with Johannes Brahms) the collected harpsichord music of François Couperin le Grand, published from 1871 to 1888. Chrysander took a leading role in the editing and publication of ''Denkmäler der Tonkunst'' (1869-1871).

Publications

Between 1858 and 1902, the '' Händel-Gesellschaft'' or "German Handel Society" edition of Handel's collected works was published, and this was almost entirely the work of Chrysander; however, Julius Rietz prepared the first volume (with results that were much to Chrysander's dissatisfaction), and Max Seiffert also assisted with some of the later editing. Early in the publication of the edition, the publisher dropped out of the project, after which Chrysander set up an engraving shop at his home and produced subsequent volumes himself. Additionally, he sold fruit and vegetables raised in his garden as a way of bringing in further income during the publication years."Editions of Handel's Music," ''op. cit..'' The quality of some of the editing has been challenged in subsequent decades, with one writer calling the ''Händel-Gesellschaft'' edition "anything but complete and reliable" and another criticizing Chrysander's "arbitrary selection of material in the more complex works and his failure to explain his methods."Dean, ''New Grove Handel,'' p. 117. Nevertheless, this publication, which produced over 100 volumes of music, is acknowledged to have been a remarkable achievement for its day.

References

External links

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Chrysander's biography of Händel, unabridged text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chrysander, Friedrich 1826 births 1901 deaths People from the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin German music publishers (people) People from Bergedorf Handel scholars 19th-century German musicologists

Biography

Publications

See also

References

Further reading

External links