Johannes Driessler (26 January 1921 – 3 May 1998) was a German composer, organist, and lecturer. He composed operas, chamber music, and especially sacred music both vocal and for organ.

Life and work

Driessler was born in Friedrichsthal on 26 January 1921. He studied from 1939 at the Pädagogische Akademie Dortmund, and from 1940 composition and organ at the

Musikhochschule Köln A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

. In November 1940, Driessler enlisted in the military; in 1944 he married Gertrude Ledermann. After

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 ...

, he became a teacher in 1945 in Schondorf am Ammersee. In 1946, he became a lecturer at the newly founded Nordwestdeutsche Musikakademie Detmold. Here he began to focus on composing church music. He left his teaching position in 1950 to focus on composition, but returned in following 1954, becoming a professor in 1958 and vice chancellor in 1960, a post he would retain until 1972. He retired from teaching in 1983. Driessler is best known for his

church music Church music is a genre of Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian musi ...

, including

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

s and

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s, which was known in parts of western Germany but never attained international recognition. These include the oratorio ''Dein Reich komme'', described by Werner Oehlmann as "an example of ascetic music featuring religious symbolism" ("''Beispiel religiös-symbolistischer, klangasketischer Musik''"). Driessler wrote many organ chorales, predominantly collected in ''Orgelsonaten durch das Kirchenjahr'' (Organ sonatas through the

liturgical year The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be obse ...

). He also composed for

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

, including ''Akrostichon'' (Op. 56; 1967), which repeats the motives in an "'acrostic-like' technique". He was also known for his

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

. His work is described by Hanspeter Krellmann in his ''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'' entry as traditional, tonal and

contrapuntal In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous Part (music), musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and Pitch contour, melodic contour. The term ...

. The composer is included in Oehlmann's 1961 survey of

atonal Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on ...

and

twelve-tone The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition. The technique is a means of ensuring that all 12 notes of the chromatic scale ...

music. Wolf-Eberhard von Lewinski and Donald Mintz, in a 1965 survey of contemporary German music, describe his work with others as "moderate modernism with a Hindemithian flavor but also pregnant individual traits". A contemporary reviewer for ''

Music & Letters ''Music & Letters'' is an academic journal published quarterly by Oxford University Press with a focus on musicology. The journal sponsors the Music & Letters Trust, which makes twice-yearly cash awards of variable amounts to support research in t ...

'' describes his music as containing "slightly acid dissonance", akin to Hindemith. His work was published by

Bärenreiter Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it ...

and

Breitkopf & Härtel Breitkopf & Härtel () is a German Music publisher, music publishing house. Founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf, it is the world's oldest music publisher. Overview The catalogue contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works ...

. He was in 1959 the first recipient of the , and was awarded the in 1962. Driessler died in

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of ...

on 3 May 1998, at age 77.

Works

Sources: * ''Sinfonia Sacra'' * ''Dein Reich komme'', oratorio, Op. 11 (1950) * ''Claudia amata'', lyric opera, Op. 17 (premiered 1952 Münster) * ''Prinzessin Hochmut'', fairy-tale opera, Op. 21 (premiered 1952 Kassel) * ''Der Umfried'', opera (premiered 1957) * ''Doktor Luzifer Trux'', opera (premiered 1958) * ''Three Small Pieces'' for cello and piano, Op. 8 * ''Vier kleine Stücke für Flöte und Klavier'' (Four Little Pieces for Flute and Piano), Op. 8 No. 2 (1948) * Duo for violin and cello * Fantasy for cello and piano, Op. 24 No. 2 * ''Fünf Stücke'' (Five Pieces) for viola and piano, Op. 24 No. 3b (1952) *Sonata for solo viola, Op. 3 No. 1 (1946) * ''20 Chorale Sonatas'', Op. 30 (1955) * ''Altenburger Messe'', Op. 33 (1955) * ''Markus passion a capella'' (1956) * Cello Sonata, Op. 41 No. 2 * ''Ikarus'', sinfonia da camera (1960) * Concerto for String trio and Orchestra, Op. 54 (1963) * ''Tripartita'' for viola and harpsichord, Op. 58 No. 3 (1966) * Symphony No. 3, Op. 63 (1969)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Driessler, Johannes 1921 births 1998 deaths People from Friedrichsthal 20th-century German classical composers Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Detmold German male classical composers 20th-century German male musicians