Friedrich Chrysander
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Karl Franz Friedrich Chrysander (8 July 1826 – 3 September 1901) was a German music historian,
critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...
and
publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
, whose edition of the works of George Frideric Handel and authoritative writings on many other composers established him as a pioneer of 19th-century
musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...
.


Biography

Born at Lübtheen, in
Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Adolphus Frederick II divided ...
, Chrysander was the son of a miller. He earned a Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Rostock in 1853. He then focused his studies on music, and in an obituary for Chrysander in October 1901, the '' Musical Times'' said of him that :"From the beginning he assumed the role of an historian in rigorously defending the right and claims of musical masterpieces of a distant past to a legitimate and faithful reproduction, i.e., without modernising, and without instrumental or vocal additions." Chrysander is also credited with rediscovering the autograph score of
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 ...
's '' Mass in B Minor,'' which he then sold to the Royal Library in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, generously doing so only for the same sum that he himself paid for it. He also edited the music of many other composers, including (in collaboration with
Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...
) the collected harpsichord music of François Couperin le Grand, published from 1871 to 1888. Chrysander took a leading role in the editing and publication of ''Denkmäler der Tonkunst'' (1869-1871).


Publications

Between 1858 and 1902, the '' Händel-Gesellschaft'' or "German Handel Society" edition of Handel's collected works was published, and this was almost entirely the work of Chrysander; however, Julius Rietz prepared the first volume (with results that were much to Chrysander's dissatisfaction), and Max Seiffert also assisted with some of the later editing. Early in the publication of the edition, the publisher dropped out of the project, after which Chrysander set up an engraving shop at his home and produced subsequent volumes himself. Additionally, he sold fruit and vegetables raised in his garden as a way of bringing in further income during the publication years."Editions of Handel's Music," ''op. cit..'' The quality of some of the editing has been challenged in subsequent decades, with one writer calling the ''Händel-Gesellschaft'' edition "anything but complete and reliable" and another criticizing Chrysander's "arbitrary selection of material in the more complex works and his failure to explain his methods."Dean, ''New Grove Handel,'' p. 117. Nevertheless, this publication, which produced over 100 volumes of music, is acknowledged to have been a remarkable achievement for its day.


See also

* List of compositions by George Frideric Handel


References


Further reading


''Karl Franz Friedrich Chrysander''
The October 1901 obituary on Chrysander from ''The Musical Times.'' * Ferdinand Pfohl: ''Friedrich Chrysander''. (Hamburg-)Bergedorf, Köster & Wobbe, 1926 (in German)


External links

* *
Chrysander's biography of Händel, unabridged text

Letters to Friedrich and Rudolf Chrysander
a
Loeb Music Library, Harvard University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chrysander, Friedrich 1826 births 1901 deaths People from the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin German music publishers (people) People from Bergedorf Handel scholars 19th-century German musicologists