Christian Heinrich Postel (11 October 1658 – 22 March 1705) was a German jurist, epic poet and opera librettist, who wrote 28 libretti for the Oper am Gänsemarkt in Hamburg: set by composers such as Johann Philipp Förtsch,

Reinhard Keiser Reinhard Keiser (9 January 1674 – 12 September 1739) was a German opera composer based in Hamburg. He wrote over a hundred operas. Johann Adolf Scheibe (writing in 1745) considered him an equal to Johann Kuhnau, George Frideric Handel and Georg ...

and

Georg Philipp Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history, at least in terms of surviving works. Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to b ...

. His texts for a ''St John Passion'' were set by composers Christian Ritter,

Johann Mattheson Johann Mattheson (28 September 1681 – 17 April 1764) was a German composer, critic, lexicographer and music theorist. His writings on the late Baroque and early Classical period were highly influential, specifically, "his biographical and the ...

and

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

in their respective ''

St John Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the earliest of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as director of church music in Leipzi ...

''.

Career

Postel was born in , the son of the theologian Lorenz Postel and his wife Dorothea, née Isentrut. His father was a minister at the ' in Hamburg. Christian Heinrich Postel attended the . He studied law 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 ...

from 1680 with

Christian Thomasius Christian Thomasius (; 1 January 1655 – 23 September 1728) was a German jurist and philosopher. Biography He was born in Leipzig and was educated by his father, Jakob Thomasius (1622–1684), at that time a junior lecturer in Leipzig Univer ...

. When the plague threatened Leipzig, he continued his studies at the

University of Rostock The University of 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 continental northern Europe and the Baltic Se ...

, where he graduated as a licentiate on 10 May 1683. He travelled for six months with , a historian and theologian, in the Netherlands, England and France. Their diary of the journey, "" (Description of a journey through the north-western Germany, to the Netherlands and England in the year 1683), not printed until the 19th century, shows their many interests, especially in foreign universities and libraries. Back in Hamburg, he opened an office as a lawyer. He wrote 28 opera libretti for the from 1688 to 1702, set by contemporary composers such as Johann Georg Conradi,

and Johann Sigismund Kusser.

set his libretto of '' Sieg der Schönheit'' (Victory of beauty). He adapted

Jean Galbert de Campistron Jean Galbert de Campistron (3 August 1656 – 11 May 1723) was a French dramatist. Biography Campistron was born in Toulouse, France to a noble family. At the age of seventeen he was wounded in a duel and sent to Paris. Here he became an ardent d ...

's tragedy '' Achille et Polyxène'' for an opera by Lully and Colasse, premiered in 1687, as a French-German cooperation unique in opera history. His opera libretto ' ("St. Eugenia, or the conversion of Alexandria to Christianity"), was set by Johann Philipp Förtsch, premiered in 1688 and printed in 1695. In 1692, He was the librettist for an opera in two parts concerning the destruction of Jerusalem. Around 1700, Postel wrote the libretto for an

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

' (Passion and death of Jesus Christ, or St John Passion). A setting formerly attributed to

George Frideric 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 concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

is now believed to be by Christian Ritter. Another setting, called ''Das Lied des Lammes'' ("The Song of the Lamb") is by

. Several parts of the text were used in Bach's ''

''. While Postel is thought to have written all thirteen poetic pieces added to the Gospel text, it is certain only for three which were reprinted by

Christian Friedrich Hunold Christian Friedrich Hunold (born 29 September 1680 in Wandersleben near Gotha, died 16 August 1721 in Halle) was a German author who wrote under the pseudonym Menantes. Biography Hunold went to school in Arnstadt and continued in 1691 at ...

, while "" is among the other ten. Ritter and Mattheson composed it as an aria, while Bach set it as a

chorale A 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 o ...

on the melody of the

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

"Machs mit mir, Gott, nach deiner Güt" (Deal with me, God, according to your kindness). All three composers place it at the same position in the action, in the court hearing of Pilate. Postel died in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

consumption Consumption may refer to: * Eating *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption * Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...

Selected works

* Jakob von Melle, Christian Henrich Postel: ''Beschreibung einer Reise durch das nordwestliche Deutschland, nach den Niederlanden und England im Jahre 1683. Aus einer Handschrift der Lübeckischen Stadtbibliothek herausgegeben von Oberlehrer Dr. Carl Curtius.'' Gebr. Borchers, Lübeck 1891 (Programm Lübeck Catharineum 1891), online.

Literature

* Julius Elias: Postel, Christian Heinrich. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 26, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1888, S. 465–473. * Dian Igor Lindberg: Literary Aspects of German Baroque Opera. History, theory, and practice (Christian Heinrich Postel and Barthold Feind). Diss. Univ. of California, Los Angeles 1964. * Solveig Olsen: Christian Heinrich Postels Beitrag zur deutschen Literatur. Versuch einer Darstellung (= Amsterdamer Publikationen zur Sprache und Literatur 7, ISSN 0169-0221). Rodopi, Amsterdam 1973. * Bodo Plachta: Postel, Christian Heinrich. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Band 20, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2001, S. 656 (Digitalisat). * Erich Vilter: Die epische Technik in Chr. H. Postels Heldengedicht „Der grosse Wittekind“. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Renaissanceepen. Kaestner, Göttingen 1899 (Dissertation, Universität Göttingen, 1898).

References

External links

*
Works digital
Herzog August Bibliothek {{DEFAULTSORT:Postel, Christian 1658 births 1705 deaths 17th-century German lawyers German librettists German poets Musicians from Hamburg Jurists from Hanover University of Rostock alumni German male poets People educated at the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums People from Stade (district) 17th-century German poets