Martin Petzoldt (13 April 1946 – 13 March 2015) was a German

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

theologian, Bach scholar and academic teacher. He was a professor at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

and president of the .

Career

Petzoldt was born in

Rabenstein Rabenstein (officially: ''Rabenstein/Fläming'') is a municipality in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic ...

. He was a member of the under Rudolf Mauersberger. and attended the He studied theology at the

, graduating in 1969. He was promoted there in 1976 and achieved his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

in 1985. In 1973 he was ordained minister of the Lutheran Church of Saxony. He taught at the University of Leipzig, from 1986 as

docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

, from 1992 as a professor of

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...

with a focus on ethics. From 1995 to 2009 he was also ' (university preacher). In that function, he was engaged in the discussions and decisions around the new Paulinum, replacing the former demolished university church . He was professor emeritus in 2011. Petzoldt was one of the editors of a magazine for theological literature, the ', until end of 2014. He was also president of the and from 1978 to 2014 on the board of the . For the

Carus-Verlag Carus-Verlag is a German music publisher founded in 1972 and based in Stuttgart. Carus was founded by choral conductor Günter Graulich and his wife Waltraud with an emphasis on choral repertoire. the catalogue includes more than 26,000 works ...

, Petzoldt edited a

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of r ...

edition of the seven volumes of

libretti A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major l ...

of works by Bach which were published between 1724 and 1749, including the ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance in a churc ...

''. The book was awarded the in the facsimile category in 2001. In 1998 he was awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2012 he was diagnosed with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

. He died in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Selected publications

* ''Liturgische und theologische Aspekte zu den Texten der frühesten Kantaten'', in

Christoph Wolff Christoph Wolff (born 24 May 1940) is a German musicologist. He is best known for his works on the music, life, and period of Johann Sebastian Bach. Christoph Wolff is an emeritus professor of Harvard University, and was part of the faculty sinc ...

(ed.): ''Die Welt der Bach Kantaten'', vol. 1 (Stuttgart and Kassell: Bärenreiter, 1996), 119–34. * ''Bachstätten. Ein Reiseführer zu Johann Sebastian Bach''. Insel, Frankfurt, 2000. *
Chronicle of the University Church of St Paul (1240–1968)
' *
Liturgy and Music in Leipzig’s Main Churches
' 2013

References

External links

* *
Gespräch über J. S. Bachs Passionen (YouTube Video)
Martin Petzoldt,

Ton Koopman Antonius Gerhardus Michael "Ton" Koopman (; born 2 October 1944) is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. He is a professor ...

and

Peter Wollny Peter Wollny (born 29 June 1961) is a German musicologist, a Bach scholar who has served the Bach Archive Leipzig beginning in 1993, and as its director from 2014. Wollny has contributed to the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, and has been an editor of '' Ca ...

Prof. Dr. Martin Petzoldt
University of Leipzig
Foundation Mourns Loss of Prof. Dr. Martin Petzoldt
Johann Sebastian Bach Stiftung 16 March 2015

Bachakademie {{DEFAULTSORT:Petzoldt, Martin 20th-century German Protestant theologians 21st-century German Protestant theologians Systematic theologians Academic staff of Leipzig University Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1946 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Lutheran theologians 21st-century Lutheran theologians