Johann Adam Joseph Karl Georg Reutter, during his life known as Georg Reutter the Younger (6 April 1708 – 11 March 1772) was an Austrian composer. Karl Geiringer, ''Haydn: A Creative Life in Music'', 1982, p. 19: "There were two Viennese composers of this name. Georg Reutter, the father (1656–1738), was choir director of St. Stephen's and court organist. His son, J. A. Karl Georg (1708–1772), was Haydn's teacher." According to David Wyn Jones, in his prime he was "the single most influential musician in Vienna".

Early life

Reutter was born and died in Vienna. His father Georg Reutter (the Elder) was also a notable composer. He was the 11th of 14 children and received his early musical training from his father, assisting him as court

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

. A period of more formal instruction from

Antonio Caldara Antonio Caldara (ca 1670 – 28 December 1736) was an Italian Baroque composer. Life Caldara was born in Venice (exact date unknown), the son of a violinist. He became a chorister at St Mark's in Venice, where he learned several instruments, ...

ensued, leading to the composition of an

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

in 1726 and, in 1727, his first

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

for the imperial court, ''Archidamia''. On three separate occasions during this period, Reutter applied for a position as court organist and was each time rejected by

Johann Joseph Fux Johann Joseph Fux (; – 13 February 1741) was an Austrian composer, music theorist and pedagogue of the late Baroque era. His most enduring work is not a musical composition but his treatise on counterpoint, '' Gradus ad Parnassum'', which h ...

. At his own expense he travelled to Italy in 1730 (possibly in 1729); in February 1730 he was in Venice and in April 1730 in Rome. He returned to Vienna in autumn 1730, and early in the following year he successfully applied for a post as court composer, the formal beginning of a lifetime of service at the Habsburg court. After his father's death he became ''

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (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 ha ...

'' of St. Stephen's Cathedral in 1738.

As ''Kapellmeister''

The ''Kapellmeister'' position had existed since the fifteenth century and Reutter was the 27th to occupy the post. The job provided living space directly adjacent to the Cathedral, the ''Kapellhaus'' (demolished in 1803), which also housed Reutter's family and the choirboys. Reutter supervised a staff of 31 musicians, as follows: *5 choirboys, who sang the treble (soprano) part *12 adult male singers: basses, tenors, and

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist ( ...

s. The latter sang the alto part. *12 string players *an organist *a subcantor, who assisted Reutter When trumpets, timpani, or trombones were needed, they were recruited on an ad hoc basis, often borrowed from the musical establishment of the Imperial court (''Hofkapelle''). According to Jones, the repertoire of church music "constituted a continually unfolding tradition that is poorly served by the familiar division of the

8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number ...

century into Baroque and Classical." Much of this repertoire was by Reutter himself (see Works, below); other composers prominently represented were Bonno, Tuma, and

Fux Fuchs (German and Yiddish for "fox") is a surname; it has as variants Fux, Fuhs and Fuchß. Notable persons bearing it include the following: Notable people Fuchs, A - D * Arved Fuchs (born 1953), German writer and adventurer * Benjamin Fuchs ...

Reutter and Haydn

In 1739, while visiting the town of Hainburg, Reutter auditioned the seven-year-old

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have le ...

; Haydn joined his ensemble the following year, later to be joined by his younger brother Michael. Both served until they were teenagers and had lost their soprano voices. It was naturally assumed that the youngsters were likely to become professional musicians in adulthood and they were trained accordingly. Joseph Haydn was given singing lessons by the tenor Ignaz Finsterbusch and taught violin by the ensemble's bass player, Adam Gegenbauer. He was also taught keyboard. The training did not include serious instruction in musical theory; this was a thirst that Joseph was able to satisfy (by studying

and Mattheson) only after he had left the ''Kapelle''. The choirboys were also given a basic ordinary education, including reading, writing, arithmetic, and some Latin. Jones suggests that "Haydn's formal education was rather patchy, perhaps less regular than it had been in

is previous home in In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae; abbreviated ) is a word or phrase that links the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, such as the word ''is'' in the sentence "The sky is blue" or the phrase ''was not being'' i ...

Hainburg." The memoirs dictated by Joseph to biographers in his old age indicate that Reutter's choristers often were underfed, thanks to Reutter's reluctance to spend money on them. Reutter was also not particularly helpful in providing feedback on Haydn's earliest efforts at musical composition.

Later career

Reutter later advanced to the position of court ''Kapellmeister'', and Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...

gave him the sole management of the court orchestra in 1751. Reutter died in Vienna.

Music

In addition to the works mentioned above, Reutter wrote a great deal of church music. Jones lists the following: *about 80

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...

es *6

requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

s *17

gradual The gradual ( la, graduale or ) is a chant or hymn in the Mass, the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, and among some other Christians. It gets its name from the Latin (meaning "step") because it was once chant ...

s *31

offertories The offertory (from Medieval Latin ''offertorium'' and Late Latin ''offerre'') is the part of a Eucharistic service when the bread and wine for use in the service are ceremonially placed on the altar. A collection of alms (offerings) from the co ...

*126

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Marga ...

s *151

psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

settings *53 hymns *48 antiphons *7 responses *20

litanies Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin '' litania'' from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (''lita ...

Reutter is believed to be the author of a setting of the '' De profundis'', KV 93, formerly ascribed to

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Oratorios

The following oratorios are mentioned in Eitner's ''Quellen-Lexicon'': *''La morte d'Abele'' (1727) Metastasio *''Elia'' (1728) Leopoldo de Villati, 24 February *''Bersabea, ovvero il pentimento di David'' (1729) text by Giovanni Battista Catena *''La Divina provvidenza in Ismael'' (1732) Antonio Maria Lucchini *'' Il ritorno di Tobia'' (1733) text by Giovanni Claudio Pasquini, 5 March 1733 *'' La Betulia liberata'' (1734) text by Metastasio *''

Gioas re di Giuda ''Gioas re di Giuda'' (Joas, king of Judah) is an Italian-language oratorio libretto by Pietro Metastasio written in 1735 for imperial court composer Georg Reutter the younger and later set by at least 25 composers.Howard E. Smither, ''A History o ...

'' (1735) (Joash, King of Judah) text by Metastasio *''La Maria lebbrosa'' (1739)

Stage works

The following stage works are listed in Eitner's ''Quellen-Lexicon'': *''Archidamia'' (1727) * (1728) * (1728) * (1728) * (1729) * (1729) *''Plotina'' (1730) * (1731) *''La Pacienza do Socrate'' (1731) *''Il tempo e la verita'' (1731) *''Alessandro il grande'' (1732) *''Zenobia'' (1732) *''Ciro in Armenia'' (1733) *''Dafne'' (1734) *''La Gratitudine di Mitridate'' (1734) *''Mitridate e di Ponto'' (1734) *''Il Palladio conservato'' (1735) * (1735) *''Diana vendicta'' (1736) * (1736) *''L'alloro illustrata'' (1738) * (1738) *''L'Eroina d'Argo'' (1739) * (1741) *''La Corona'' (1754) *''La Gara'' (1755) *''Il sogno'' (1756 or 1757)

Selected recordings

* Mozart/Reutter: ''De profundis clamavi'', Choir and Orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper, Peter Maag * Johann Georg Reutter: ''Portus Felicitatis – Motetten und Arien für das Pantaleon, Monika Mauch, Stanislava Jirku, La Gioia Armonica,

Jürgen Banholzer Jürgen Banholzer is a German counter-tenor and musicologist. He studied at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Lyon and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, and was taught by Michael Chance and Gérard Lesne. He is parti ...

. Ramee 2013 * Johann Georg Reutter: Arie & Sinfonie, Olivia Vermeulen, Nuovo Aspetto. Accent 2013

References

Sources *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reutter, Georg 18th-century Austrian people 18th-century classical composers 18th-century male musicians Austrian Baroque composers Austrian Classical-period composers Austrian opera composers Male opera composers Joseph Haydn Musicians from Vienna Edlers of Austria 1708 births 1772 deaths