(Charles) Albert Riemenschneider (August 31, 1878 – July 20, 1950) was an American musician and

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 wor ...

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

. Riemenschneider was born into a musical family. His father, Karl H. Riemenschneider, was the president of German Wallace College in Berea, Ohio (which later became Baldwin-Wallace (BW) College). While still a student at the college, he was offered the then vacant position of Director of the Music Department in 1898, a post he held until his retirement 50 years later.Tom Riemenschneider and Laura Kennelly: "The Baldwin-Wallace College Bach Legacy At 75 Years"
This department then became under his directorship the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music. In 1899 he graduated from the college and received its Alumni Merit Award; his wife Selma, née Marting, graduated in 1904, also with an Alumni Merit Award.Outstanding Alumni
/ref> In 1989 the Riemenschneider family, many of whom graduated from BW, received the college's inaugural Family Heritage Award. In 1932, Albert Riemenschneider and his wife founded the Baldwin-Wallace Bach Festival, the oldest collegiate Bach festival in America. It was modelled on the Bethlehem Bach Festival which was developed by Riemenschneider's friend, Dr. Frederick Wolle. From 1902 to 1903 he studied the piano under Hugo Reinhold and composition under Robert Fuchs in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. In

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1904 and 1905, he studied with

Charles-Marie Widor Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the mid-Romantic era, most notable for his ten organ symphonies. His Toccata from the fifth organ symphony has become one of th ...

and Alexandre Guilmant and became a friend of

Marcel Dupré Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré () (3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Biography Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré was titular o ...

and

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schweit ...

.Rodney H. Mill. "Riemenschneider, Albert."
Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online The American composer

Richard Ellsasser Richard Ellsasser (September 14, 1926 - August 9, 1972) was an American concert organist, composer, and conductor who was primarily active during the 1940s to 1960s. Born in Cleveland, Ohio on September 14, 1926, he was a musical prodigy who stud ...

(1926–1972) was his pupil. Riemenschneider performed Bach's music in more than three hundred recitals and concerts in America and Europe. He received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

" D.mus." in 1944 (Grove: 1939) from the Sherwood Conservatory of Music and served as president on several educational and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

institutions. In 1947 he retired as director of the conservatorium, but returned later to serve as Acting President for one year. He was invited by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

to hold a lecture on Bach in 1950, but it had to be presented

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

. The most enduring publication of his scholarly works was his ''Bach — 371 Harmonized

Chorale Chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one of the th ...

s and 69 Chorale Melodies with

Figured Bass Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidentals) indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones that a musician playing piano, harpsi ...

'', ed. Albert Riemenschneider, G. Schirmer, NY, 1941 (see also

List of chorale harmonisations by Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach's chorale harmonisations, alternatively named four-part chorales, are Lutheran hymn settings that characteristically conform to the following: * four-part harmony * SATB vocal forces * pre-existing hymn tune allotted to the ...

). Selma Riemenschneider continued the management of the Bach festival until 1954. In 1951 she donated Albert's collection of rare Bach manuscripts to Baldwin-Wallace College, founding a library which in 1969 became the Riemenschneider Bach Institute. Albert and Selma Riemenschneider had three children, Edwin, Paul, and Wilma. Albert died on July 20 1950 in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

, just a few days away from the 200th anniversary of Bach's death.

References

External links

Riemenschneider Bach Institute
at Baldwin-Wallace College
Encyclopedia of Baldwin Wallace University History: Albert Riemenschneider
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riemenschneider, Albert 1878 births 1950 deaths American musicologists American classical musicians American people of German descent Musicians from Ohio Baldwin Wallace University alumni Bach scholars