Johann Schelle ( Geising, Erzgebirge, 6 September 1648 –

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

10 March 1701) was a German Baroque composer. From 1655 to 1657 he was a choirboy in Dresden and pupil of

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. H ...

. From 1657 to 1664 on Schütz's recommendation he was a singer in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

. He was the cantor of the

Thomanerchor The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig) is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. The choir comprises about 90 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called ''Thomaner'', reside in a boarding sc ...

, Leipzig, from 1677 to 1701. In 1689/90 he collaborated on a cycle of chorale cantatas with Leipzig theologian Benedict Carpzov.

Leipzig

When his former teacher Sebastian Knüpfer died, Schelle succeeded him as Kantor of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, a post later held by J.S. Bach. He obtained the post on January 31, 1677, and held it until his death. His appointment was made against the wishes of the city mayor, who remained antagonistic to him and the changes he introduced in the musical content of services. The matter came to a head when Schelle replaced the Latin compositions written by Italian masters with music to German texts, especially cantatas. When the city council finally took Schelle's side on the problem Schelle started the practice of introducing into the Protestant liturgy in Leipzig not only the Gospel cantata to German texts but later the chorale cantata, too. This remains one of his most important achievements.

Works, editions and recordings

Over 200 compositions by Schelle are listed, but only 47 survive. During his life the only work printed was ''Christus ist des Gesetzes Ende,'' Leipzig 1684. Recordings *Schelle: ''Actus Musicus auf Wey-Nachten'' Gundula Anders (soprano),

Andreas Scholl Andreas Scholl (born 10 November 1967) is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range, specialising in Baroque music. Born into a family of singers, Scholl was enrolled at the age of seven into the Kiedricher Chorbu ...

(alto), Wilfried Jochens (tenor), Harry van der Kamp (bass). Musica Fiata, Roland Wilson. DHM. *''Sacred Music by Johann Schelle'', King's Consort. Hyperion Records * "Actus Musicus auf Wey-Nachten" Christmas cantatas: Monika Mauch, Myriam Arbouz,(soprano), Marian Dijkhuizen (alto),Georg Poplutz Jakob Pilgram (tenor), Raimonds Spogis (baritone), Concerto Palatino
Kölner Akademie
Michael Alexander Willens, CPO

References

1648 births 1701 deaths German Baroque composers German male classical composers Thomaskantors Pupils of Heinrich Schütz {{Germany-composer-stub