Johannes Eccard (1553–1611) was a German composer and

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 ...

. He was an early principal conductor at the Berlin court chapel.

Biography

Eccard was born at

Mühlhausen Mühlhausen () is a city in the north-west of Thuringia, Germany, north of Niederdorla, the country's geographical centre, north-west of Erfurt, east of Kassel and south-east of Göttingen. Mühlhausen was first mentioned in 967 and ...

, in present-day

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. At the age of eighteen he went to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, where he became the pupil of Orlando Lasso. In his company, Eccard is said to have visited

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, but in 1574, he was again at Mühlhausen, where he resided for four years. There he, together with

Joachim a Burck Joachim von Burck, also Joachim a Burgk or Joachim Moller ( Burg, 1546-Mühlhausen, 24 May 1610) was a German composer, notable for an early German Passion setting. As Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German ...

, edited some works of his first master, a collection of sacred songs, called ''Crepundia sacra Helmboldi'' (1577). Soon afterwards he obtained an appointment as musician in the house of Jacob Fugger, the

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the '' ...

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

. In 1583 he became assistant conductor, and in 1599 conductor at

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was na ...

to Georg Friedrich,

Margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the E ...

of Brandenburg-Anspach, the administrator of the

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establish ...

. In 1608 he was called by Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg as principal conductor in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, but this post he held only for three years, owing to his death at Königsberg in 1611. Eccard's works consist exclusively of vocal compositions, such as songs, sacred cantatas and

chorale Chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of " Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one of the ...

s for four or five, and sometimes for seven, eight, or even nine voices. Their

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...

structure is a marvel of art and still garners the admiration of musicians. At the same time his works are filled with a spirit of true religious feeling. Before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, his setting of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Luther ...

's words "

Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" (originally written in the German language with the title ) is one of the best known hymns by the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther, a prolific hymnwriter. Luther wrote the words and composed the hymn tune between ...

" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God") was regarded by the Germans as their representative national hymn. Eccard and his school are inseparably connected with the history of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. Of Eccard's songs a great many collections are extant such as those published in ''Der Evangelische Kirchengesang'' (1843) by Baron Karl Georg August Vivigens von Winterfeld.

Works

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 ...

on "

Nun liebe Seel, nun ist es Zeit "", alternatively written "" (Now, dear soul, now it is time), is a Lutheran hymn for Epiphany, in five stanzas of six lines each, by Georg Weissel. It was first printed in 1642, set as a motet by Johannes Eccard. A version with an additional s ...

" *''Nun schürz dich, Gretlein, schürz dich'' *''

Übers Gebirg Maria geht ' (Over the mountains Mary goes) is a sacred motet by the Renaissance composer and musician Johannes Eccard, who wrote it on a German text by Ludwig Helmbold in two stanzas. The first stanza is a rephrasing of the biblical story of the visit of ...

'', five-part motet *''Christ ist erstanden'' *''Es rühmt die Heilige Schrift'' (1591) *''Nachdem die Sonn beschlossen'' (1600) *''Maria wallt zum Heiligtum'' (also sung in English: "When to the temple Mary went")

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eccard, Johannes People from Mühlhausen Renaissance composers 1553 births 1611 deaths Music directors of the Berlin State Opera Pupils of Orlande de Lassus Male classical composers