Johann Gottlob Harrer, more commonly known as Gottlob Harrer, (8 May 1703 – 9 July 1755) was a German composer and choir leader. From 1731-1750 he worked as private musician to Count

Heinrich von Brühl Heinrich, Count von Brühl (, 13 August 170028 October 1763), was a Polish-Saxon statesman at the court of Electorate of Saxony, Saxony and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and a member of the powerful German von Brühl family. The incumbenc ...

. In 1750 he succeeded

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 ...

Thomaskantor (Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of Cantor ( ...

at the St. Thomas School, Leipzig; a post he maintained until his death in 1755.

Life

Johann Gottlob Harrer was born in

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

on May 8, 1703. He originally intended to become a lawyer, and studied the law at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

from 1722-1725. Through the patronage of Count

, he trained as a musician in Italy. Upon completing his education he returned to Germany where he served the count as his private musician 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 ...

from 1731-1750. Following the death of

in 1750, Harrer became his successor as

at the St. Thomas School, Leipzig. He still held the post when he died in Carlsbad in July 1755, but deputies had had to fulfill his duties on occasion, because of his declining health. He composed much instrumental music, including 27 symphonies, 24 orchestral suites, 51 flute duets and a number of harpsichord sonatas. He also wrote two masses for choir and orchestra, one mass for unaccompanied voices, 47 cantatas and a number of oratorios, passions, psalms, and motets.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* A. Schering: ''Der Thomaskantor Johann Gottlob Harrer.'' In: ''

Bach-Jahrbuch The ''Bach-Jahrbuch'' ("Bach yearbook" or according to the publication's website "Bach Annals") is an Periodical literature, annual publication related to the composer Bach. It is published in German by the Neue Bachgesellschaft in Leipzig. It is t ...

''. Band XXVII. 1931
ADB entry
* Ulrike Kollmar: ''Gottlob Harrer (1703–1755), Kapellmeister des Grafen Heinrich von Brühl am sächsisch-polnischen Hof und Thomaskantor in Leipzig'' (= ''Schriften zur mitteldeutschen Musikgeschichte''. Band 12). Ortus-Musikverlag, Beeskow 2006, .

External links

* *http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Harrer-Johann-Gottlob.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrer, Gottlob 1703 births 1755 deaths Thomaskantors German male classical composers German Baroque composers 18th-century German classical composers 18th-century conductors (music) People from Görlitz 18th-century German male musicians