David Elias Heidenreich (21 January 1638 – 6 June 1688) was a German poet, dramatist, librettist and translator of the

Baroque era The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

Biography

Born 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 ...

, he was the son of the prominent lawyer Tobias Heidenreich and his wife, who was a daughter of the famous poet and printer Gregor Ritzsch. Although Heidenreich followed his father into a legal career, his poetic talent soon revealed itself. After his father's death, he spent 13 years in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

in the home of ''

Bürgermeister Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

'' (mayor) and poet Christian Brehme. Later he attended the '' Gymnasium'' in Halle. In 1655 he registered as a student at the faculty of law in

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

, where he earned a living through translation work and occasional poetry. After completing his studies he went to work at the court in

Weißenfels Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle. His ...

, where he made a career in the court and

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistor ...

administrations, and where his numerous theatrical works were premiered. The composer

David Pohle David Pohle (1624 – 20 December 1695) was a German composer of the Baroque era. His surname is also spelled Pohl, Pohlen, Pole, Pol or Bohle. Biography Pohle was born in Marienberg into a family of civic musicians. He was a pupil of Heinrich Sc ...

, a pupil of

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque music, Baroque composer and organ (music), organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and one of the most important composers of ...

, was ''

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

'' at the Saxon courts of Halle and Weißenfels. Heidenreich provided him with the libretti for a number of the ''

Singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk- ...

'' operas that he composed.Snyder. Heidenreich's 1665 ''Geistliche Oden'' (Sacred Odes) were also set to music by Pohle. In 1672 Heidenreich became a member of the

Fruitbearing Society The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''Societas Fructifera'') was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility. Its aim was to standardize vernacular German and promote it ...

, under the name ''der Willige'' ("the Willing"). He died in Weißenfels in 1688.

Works

Selected works include: * ''Horatz oder Gerechtfertigter Schwester-Mord'', translation after

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; ; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great 17th-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronage ...

(1662, Leipzig) * ''Rache zu Gibeon'', translation after

Joost van den Vondel Joost van den Vondel (; 17 November 1587 – 5 February 1679) was a Dutch playwright, poet, literary translator and writer. He is generally regarded as the greatest writer in the Dutch language as well as an important figure in the history of Wes ...

(1662, Leipzig) * ''Geistliche Oden auf die fürnehmsten Feste und alle Sonntage des gantzen Jahres'' (1665, Halle) * ''Heyrath macht Friede, oder Der erkannte Tuisco. Trauer-Freuden-Spiel'' (1669, Halle) * ''Der verliebte Mörder Herodes, der Große'' (1673, Halle)

References

Sources

* 1638 births 1688 deaths 17th-century German poets German opera librettists University of Wittenberg alumni Writers from Leipzig People from Weißenfels German male poets German male dramatists and playwrights 17th-century German dramatists and playwrights German male non-fiction writers 17th-century German male writers 17th-century German translators {{Germany-translator-stub