Christoph Nichelmann (13 August 1717 – 20 July 1762) was a German composer and

harpsichordist A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord. Harpsichordists may play as soloists, as accompanists, as chamber musicians, or as members of an orchestra, or some combination of these roles. Solo harpsichordists may play unaccompanied son ...

. He was second keyboard player in the Royal Ensemble of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

Biography

Born in

Treuenbrietzen Treuenbrietzen () is a town in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district of Brandenburg, Germany. Geography The municipality Treuenbrietzen is situated 32 km northeast of Wittenberg and includes the localities * city of Treuenbrietzen with its agglom ...

, from 1730 on the advice of a relative Nichelmann attended the Thomasschule in Leipzig, where he was accepted by

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 ...

. He may have been the soprano that Bach had in mind when he composed his cantata ''Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen''. He studied composition and was taught to play keyboard instruments by

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (22 November 17101 July 1784) was a German composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was the second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach. Despite his acknowledged genius as an improviser ...

. In 1733, because of his interest in opera, he went to Hamburg to explore theatrical music in the French and Italian style. There he was a student of

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. At times he worked as a private secretary for musicians and noble families. In 1739 Nichelmann moved to Berlin, where he continued his studies with

Johann Joachim Quantz Johann Joachim Quantz (; 30 January 1697 – 12 July 1773) was a German composer, flute, flutist and flute maker of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. Much of his professional career was spent in the court of Frederick the Great, where he s ...

and

Carl Heinrich Graun Carl Heinrich Graun (7 May 1704 – 8 August 1759) was a German composer and tenor. Along with Johann Adolph Hasse, he is considered to be the most important German composer of Italian opera of his time. Biography Graun was born in Wahrenbrüc ...

. In 1742, he decided to travel to England and France, returning to Hamburg two years later. An offer from King

of Prussia brought him again to Berlin, where in 1744 he became the second harpsichordist of the royal operatic ensemble, ("''zweiter Cembalist der königl. Operncapelle''") to accompany the king, who played the flute. He retained this position until 1756. From then on he had to support himself by giving private lessons. Nichelmann's last years were made difficult by the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. He died in Berlin.

Work

Nichelmann's traditional compositions fall within the period of 1737-1759, which was a time of changing musical styles, from

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

to the early classical period. Best known are his

piano concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

s in three-movements (fast-slow-fast). He also wrote eighteen concertos, one overture, and three symphonies, as well as choral works and other piano pieces. His twenty-two songs are early examples of the ''Berliner Liederschule'', or Berlin school of songs. His

serenata In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honour of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Italia ...

''Il sogno di Scipione'' was known in the 18th century. Nichelmann's treatise ''Die Melodie, nach ihrem Wesen sowohl, als nach ihren Eigenschaften'' (Melody, after its Nature and its Properties) (1755) was acclaimed, although it was criticized by a theorist under the pen name Caspar Dünkelfeind. It is probable that this critic was

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German composer and musician of the Baroque and Classical period. He was the fifth ch ...

Bibliography

* Douglas A. Lee: "Nichelmann, Christoph", in: ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'', 2nd ed. by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (Oxford University Press, 2001), * Thomas-M. Langner: "Nichelmann, Christoph", in: ''

Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'' (''MGG''; "Music in the Past and Present") is a German music encyclopedia. It is among the world's most comprehensive encyclopedias of music history and musicology, on account of its scope, content, wealth ...

'', 1st ed. by Friedrich Blume (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1949–1986) * Krebs, Michael Harald:
Thematisch-Systematisches Verzeichnis der Werke Christoph Nichelmann. Nichelmann-Werke-Verzeichnis (NWV)
' (PhD thesis, Potsdam, 2002)

References

External links

* *
Christoph Nichelmann, ein Meister aus der preußischen Provinz.

bachschueler.de
Friedrich der Grosse - Music for the Berlin Court
CD review, magazin.klassik.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Nichelmann, Christoph 1717 births 1762 deaths Composers from the Kingdom of Prussia 18th-century German classical composers 18th-century German composers 18th-century keyboardists 18th-century German male musicians German harpsichordists People from Treuenbrietzen