Leonhard Lechner
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Leonhard Lechner (also Leonard, 15539 September 1606) was a German composer,
kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (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 has evolved considerably in i ...
,
tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
and music editor who was taught by Orlando de Lassus. He added Athesinus to his signature, referring to his origin in today's
South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...
. His last positions were at the court of court of Stuttgart. He is regarded as a "leading German composer of choral music in the later 16th century". While many of his works are lost, a
Passion Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...
, many expressive songs, and a song cycle are extant. The complete works were 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 ...
in 14 volumes.


Life

Lechner was born in
South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...
in 1553. Lechner was originally Catholic but became a Protestant as an adult. As a boy, he sang in the Bayrische Kantorei in
Landshut Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, on the banks of the Isar, River Isar. Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state (government), Free State of Bavaria, and the seat of the surrou ...
, led by
Orlande de Lassus Orlando di Lasso ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with William Byrd, Giovanni Pierlui ...
. It was a group of the Bavarian Hofkapelle (court chapel). He was regarded as Lassus' "most distinguished pupil and a great creative force in German music". Lechner was probably in Italy during the 1570s. From 1575, he taught at a school in
Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
. He led an association of upper-class music lovers, , which sponsored the publication of religious and secular works. He married a burgher's daughter in Nuremberg and his intent was to live there with his wife. From 1582, he was responsible for music in the town. In 1584, he was appointed as by
Eitel Friedrich IV, Count of Hohenzollern Count Eitel Friedrich IV of Hohenzollern (7 September 1545 in Sigmaringen – 16 January 1605 in Hechingen) was the founder and first Count of the line Hohenzollern-Hechingen as Eitel Friedrich I. Early life Eitel Friedrich was the eldest ...
in Hechingen. As the count supported the
Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...
, Lechner left his employment after one year due to their religious differences. He then asked Louis III, Duke of Württemberg, for protection. Lechner became a
tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
singer at the court of Stuttgart, later becoming a court composer and then a court , and church musician at the
Stiftskirche In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...
. Lechner was ill for years. He died on 9 September 1606 in Stuttgart.


Works

Lechner published twelve
part-song A part song, part-song or partsong is a form of choral music that consists of a song to a secular or non-liturgical sacred text, written or arranged for several vocal parts. Part songs are commonly sung by an SATB choir, but sometimes for an all- ...
collections during the 1570s. In 1593, he composed a
Passion Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...
, ''Historia der Passion and Leidens unsers einigin Erlösers und Seligmachers Jesu Christi'', in Württemberg. The 1593 work has five
movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...
and is for a four-part mixed choir with a German text based on the four Gospels. Barely any of his compositions were printed during his lifetime. Some manuscripts are extant while many of his works are lost. His
swan song The swan song (; ) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song just before their death while they have been ...
was '' Deutsche Sprüche von Leben und Tod'' (German sentences of life and death). His works have been published from the 1920s, including the Passion, the ''Deutsche Sprüche'', and his setting of the
Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...
. A complete edition of his extant works was commissioned by the Heinrich Schütz Society and completed in 14 volumes 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 ...
edited by
Konrad Ameln Konrad Ameln (6 July 1899 – 1 September 1994) was a German hymnologist and musicologist, who wrote standard works about Protestant church music. Life Childhood, youth and academic years Born in Neuss, Ameln grew up in Kassel and attended t ...
.


Reception

''The Larousse Encyclopedia Of Music'' stated, "His music is remarkable for its dramatic power and emotional intensity, qualities particularly evident in the fifteen ''Deutsche Sprüche von Leben und Tod'', which reveal his sure command of techniques ranging from fluent
polyphony 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 chord ...
to chordal writing." John C. Hughes of ''The Choral Journal'' wrote, "Upon deeper investigation, one finds Lechner's Passion not only to be a well-constructed work of art ... but also a strong influence upon later contributions to the Passion genre." He is listed as an ecumenical saint.


References


External links

* *
Leonhard Lechner
(in German) Bayerisches Musik-Lexikon Online *

Deutsche Biographie
Leonhard Lechner (1553–1606)
(in German) kantorei.it * John Charles Hughes
Leonhard Lechner's Passion (1593): cultural contexts, musical analysis, and historical implications
(dissertation) iro.uiowa.edu Fall 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lechner, Leonhard 1550s births 1606 deaths 16th-century classical composers 17th-century German classical composers German male classical composers 17th-century German male musicians 16th-century German composers German Renaissance composers