__NOTOC__ Johann Christian Gottlieb Graupner (6 October 1767 – 16 April 1836) was a musician, composer, conductor, educator and publisher. Born in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Germany, he played oboe in

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

's orchestra in London. After moving to the United States in the 1790s, he co-founded the Philharmonic Society (ca. 1810–1825) and the

Handel and Haydn Society The Handel and Haydn Society is an American chorus and period instrument orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. Known colloquially as 'H+H', the organization has been in continual performance since its founding in 1815, the longest serving suc ...

(est. 1815) in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Some historians call Graupner "the father of Negro songs", based on the reminiscences of performer Charles T. White (1821-1891). One historian of jazz writes: "In 1795...Graupner...arrived in Charleston, Virginia, from Hanover, Germany, listened to banjo music and Negro songs, and learned. In 1799, donning blackface, he introduced himself as 'The Gay Negro Boy' in an interlude between acts at the Federal Street Theatre in Boston. This was the beginning of Negro minstrels and minstrelsy." According to another account, thereafter "he specialized in popularizing Negro songs." However, more recent historians have cast doubt upon these claims. In 1801, with fellow musicians

Philip Trajetta Philip Trajetta (Filippo Traetta) (January 8, 1777 – January 9, 1854) was an Republic of Venice-born American composer and music teacher. The son of Italian composer Tommaso Traetta, in 1800 he moved as a political refugee to the United States, ...

and François Mallet, he founded a music academy in

, called the American Conservatorio of Boston. It was the first such institution in the United States and lasted just two years. He also founded what quickly became the city's most prominent music publishing concern. In 1810 he organized the Boston Philharmonic Society to perform classical music in reaction to the non-classical syncopation of the

fuguing tune The fuguing tune (often spelled fuging tune) is a variety of Anglo-American vernacular choral music. Fuguing tunes form a significant number of the songs found in the American Sacred Harp singing tradition. They first flourished in the mid-18th ce ...

s of

William Billings William Billings (October 7, 1746 – September 26, 1800) was an American composer and is regarded as the first American choral composer and leading member of the First New England School. Life William Billings was born in Boston, Province ...

. The society performed Beethoven's Eroica Symphony marking its North American premiere on April 17, 1810. He became "the musical oracle of Boston" from 1798 until 1815 when he was among the founding members of the Handel and Haydn Society. Around 1816 he directed the orchestra at Washington Gardens. He played concerts in Boston at the Columbian Museum, Conservatory Hall, and other venues in Boston and around New England. His wife, opera singer Catherine Comoford Hillier, also performed frequently. As a music publisher, Graupner promoted the popular ''Rudiments of the Art of Playing on the Piano-Forte'' (Boston, 1806; 2nd ed., 1819), one of the earliest such volumes published in the United States, and possibly the first. He also published sheet music by numerous composers including

Ignaz Pleyel Ignaz (Ignace) Joseph Pleyel (; ; 18 June 1757 – 14 November 1831) was an Austrian composer, music publisher and piano builder of the Classical period. He grew up in Austria (then part of the Holy Roman Empire), and was educated there; in his ...

Antonio Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian composer and teacher of the classical period (music), classical period. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subje ...

, Henry Bishop, John Braham,

John Clarke Whitfield John Clarke-Whitfeld (13 December 1770 – 22 February 1836) was an English organist and composer. Life He was born John Clarke at Gloucester, and educated at Oxford under Dr Philip Hayes. In 1789 he was appointed organist of the pari ...

Muzio Clementi Muzio Filippo Vincenzo Francesco Saverio Clementi (23 January 1752 – 10 March 1832) was an Italian-British composer, virtuoso pianist, pedagogue, conductor (music), conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer, who was mostly ac ...

, John Davy, Johann Dussek, James Hook, Michael Kelly, George Kiallmark,

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852), was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist who was widely regarded as Ireland's "National poet, national bard" during the late Georgian era. The acclaim rested primarily on the popularity of his ''I ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

, Francis Panormo, William Parsons,

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, David Dean Roche, John Ross, Oliver Shaw, and

John Andrew Stevenson Sir John Andrew Stevenson (November 1761 – 14 September 1833) was an Irish composer. He is best known for his piano arrangements of ''Irish Melodies'' with poet Thomas Moore. He was granted an honorary doctorate by the University of Dublin and ...

. In Boston Graupner ran a music store at no. 6 Franklin Street, where he also lived. The store later moved to Marlboro Street and towards the end of his life he lived in Province House Court. He died in Boston in 1836.''Salem Gazette'', April 19, 1836

References

External links

WorldCat
Graupner, Gottlieb 1767–1836
New York Public Library
Pencil drawing of Graupner, by Mackenzie.

Images

Image:1808 Rowson Graupner Boston ColumbianCentinel Dec14.png, Graupner taught at Susanna Rowson's Young Ladies' Academy, 1808, on "Washington Street, near Roxbury" Image:1807 GottliebGraupner byWilliamMSDoyle MFABoston.png, Portrait of Gottlieb Graupner by William M. S. Doyle, 1807 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) Image:1813 Graupner KingsChapel Boston Repertory Feb2.png, Advertisement for performance of Handel's sacred oratorios at

King's Chapel King's Chapel is an American independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in ...

, Boston, 1813. Graupner led the orchestra {{DEFAULTSORT:Graupner, Gottlieb 1767 births 1836 deaths Musicians from Boston 18th century in Boston 19th century in Boston Cultural history of Boston American classical oboists American male oboists German classical oboists American male classical composers American classical composers Musicians from Hanover Classical musicians from Massachusetts Emigrants from the Kingdom of Hanover to the United States Burials at Mount Hope Cemetery (Boston)

References

Further reading

External links

Images