Georg Riedel (6 June 1676 – 5 February 1738, in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

) was a German

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

. He has been referred to as the "

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

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

". Riedel was a native of Sensburg (Mrągowo), in the

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

. In 1694 Riedel entered the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg () was the university of Königsberg in Duchy of Prussia, which was a fief of Poland. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant Reformation, Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke A ...

to study theology. He wrote a serenade, since lost, for the celebrations of the coronation of

Frederick I of Prussia Frederick I (; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) List of margraves and electors of Brandenburg, Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg–Pr ...

in 1701 as well as other occasional works for inaugurations, weddings, birthdays and funerals. In 1709 he was appointed cantor at Altstadt Church, one of Königsberg’s three key musical positions, which he occupied until his death. Riedel's unique monumental settings of the entire

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

, the entire

Book of Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of ...

, and the entire

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

, were preserved in the

Königsberg Public Library Public Library and Archive in Kneiphof Stamp of the library The Königsberg Public Library () was a public library in Königsberg, Germany. Background The library developed from the personal collection of Johannes Poliander, who donated it to ...

. His compositions are probably lost due to the destruction of Königsberg in 1944 and 1945 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. There is, however, still hope that Riedel's works may be recovered in the future, as parts of the various archives of

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

, post-war Königsberg, were distributed among

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

and

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

institutions. It is not clear if he is related to another Georg Riedel, born 1715 in Neidenburg (Nidzica), who was cantor first of the

Löbenicht Church Löbenicht Church () was a Protestant church in the Löbenicht quarter of Königsberg, Germany. History Originally a Roman Catholic church known as " St. Barbara auf dem Berge", the church was built from 1334 to 1352 and then expanded in 1474 ...

in Königsberg (1749–1753), then at

Königsberg Cathedral Königsberg Cathedral (; ) is a Brick Gothic-style monument in Kaliningrad, Russia, located on Kneiphof island in the Pregolya river. It is the most significant preserved building of the former city of Königsberg, which was largely destroyed in ...

(1753 to his death in 1791).

Works

Monumental oratorios: * ''Evangelium Sanct Matthäi'' 1721 * ''Psalmen Davids'' 1724 * ''Offenbarung'' 1734 Occasional works: * around 140 worksGüttler H. ‘Die Gelegenheitskompositionen Georg Riedels’, Königsberger Beiträge: Festgabe zur vierhundertjährigen Jubelfeier der Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek zu Königsberg Pr. (Königsberg, 1929), 181–95

Recordings

* Cantata "Harmonische Freude frommer Seelen" on ''Trauerkantaten''. Reyghere, Bowman, Mey, Egmond,

Ricercar Consort The Ricercar Consort is a Belgian instrumental ensemble founded in 1980 together with the Ricercar record label of Jérôme Lejeune. The founding members were violinist François Fernandez, organist Bernard Foccroulle, and viola da gamba pla ...

. Ricercar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riedel, Georg German Classical-period composers German Baroque composers German male classical composers 18th-century German male musicians People from Mrągowo Musicians from Königsberg People from the Duchy of Prussia University of Königsberg alumni 1676 births 1738 deaths