Joseph Riepel (

Rainbach im Mühlkreis Rainbach im Mühlkreis is a municipality in the district of Freistadt in the Austrian state of Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and th ...

, 22 January 1709 -

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

, 23 October 1782) was an Austrian-born German music theorist, composer and violinist. Riepel is known for his theoretical work, especially for his innovations in theory of melody and form. Riepel's writings form one of the foundations for the theory of composition of the later 18th century. He was violin teacher to

František Xaver Pokorný František Xaver Pokorný (20 December 1729, Stříbro – 2 July 1794, Regensburg) was a Czech composer and violinist of the classical period. Life and career František Xaver Pokorný was born on (20 December 1729 in Mies (now Stříbro). Whi ...

. Riepel was the son of a farmer and innkeeper. He attended the Jesuit College in

Steyr Steyr (; ) is a statutory city (Austria), statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd lar ...

and began philosophical studies in

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

and

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

, but distinguished himself early on as a violinist. In 1735–1736 he toured the Balkan Peninsula as valet of General Alexander Graf d'Ollone in the 7th Austrian war against the Turks. From 1739 to 1745 he lived 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 ...

, where he claims to have regularly frequented

Jan Dismas Zelenka Jan Dismas Zelenka (16 October 1679 – 23 December 1745), baptised Jan Lukáš Zelenka was a Bohemian composer and musician of the Baroque period. His music is admired for its harmonic inventiveness and mastery of counterpoint. Zelenka was ...

and the concertmaster

Johann Georg Pisendel Johann Georg Pisendel ( – 25 November 1755) was a German Baroque violinist and composer who, for many years, led the Court Orchestra in Dresden as concertmaster, then the finest instrumental ensemble in Europe. He was the leading violinist of ...

had by his own admission and received his first real musical training here. After living in Poland and Vienna, in 1749 he was band master at the court of the Princes of

Thurn and Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (, ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the '' Briefadel''. It was a key player in the postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and beca ...

, where he spent the rest of his life and created his theoretical writings and the majority of his compositions.

Works

*Responsoria pro Parasceve, Responsoria pro Sabbato Sancto *''Anfangsgründe zur Musikalischen Setzkunst'' (1752) *''Grundregeln zur Tonordnung insgemein'' (1755) *''Gründliche Erklärung der Tonordnung insbesondere, zugleich aber für die mehresten Organisten insgemein'' (1757) *''Erläuterung der betrüglichen Tonordnung'' (1765) *''Unentbehrliche Anmerkungen zum Contrapunct'' (1768) *''Baßschlüssel. das ist, Anleitung für Anfänger und Liebhaber der Setzkunst, die schöne Gedanken haben und zu Papier bringen, aber nur klagen, daß sie keinen Baß recht dazu zu setzen wissen'' (1786)

References

* Emmerig 1984, Grove Music Online, MGG, Primärquellen * Ulrich Kaiser (Hrsg.): ''Musiktheoretische Quellen 1750–1800. Gedruckte Schriften von J. Riepel, H. Chr. Koch, J. F. Daube und J. A. Scheibe'' (= ''Zeno.org'' 15). Mit einem Vorwort und einer Bibliographie von Stefan Eckert und Ulrich Kaiser. Directmedia, Berlin 2007, . * Stefan Eckert
"The ''Gesangleiter'' in Joseph Riepel's ''Baßschlüssel'' (1786)"
* John A. Rice
"Galant Schemata in Joseph Riepel's ''Baßschlüssel'' (1786)"
1709 births 1782 deaths 18th-century German composers 18th-century male musicians {{Germany-composer-stub