Georg Böhm | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1661-09-02)2 September 1661 Hohenkirchen, Thuringia, Germany |
| Died | 18 May 1733(1733-05-18) (aged 71) |
| Era | Baroque |
| Works | List of compositions |
Georg Böhm (2 September 1661 – 18 May 1733) was a German Baroqueorganist andcomposer. He is notable for his development of thechorale partita and for his influence on the youngJ. S. Bach.
Böhm was born in 1661 inHohenkirchen. He received his first music lessons from his father, a schoolmaster and organist who died in 1675. He may also have received lessons from Johann Heinrich Hildebrand, Kantor at Ohrdruf, who was a pupil ofHeinrich Bach and Johann Christian Bach. After his father's death, Böhm studied at the Lateinschule atGoldbach, and later at the Gymnasium atGotha, graduating in 1684. Both cities had Kantors taught by the same members of theBach family who may have influenced Böhm. On 28 August 1684 Böhm entered theUniversity of Jena. Little is known about Böhm's university years or his life after graduation. He resurfaces again only in 1693, inHamburg. We know nothing of how Böhm lived there, but presumably he was influenced by the musical life of the city and the surrounding area. French and Italian operas were regularly performed in Hamburg, while in the area of sacred music,Johann Adam Reincken of St. Katharine's Church (Katharinenkirche) was one of the leading organists and keyboard composers of his time. Böhm may have also heardVincent Lübeck in the nearbyStade, or possibly evenDieterich Buxtehude inLübeck, which was also close.[1]
In 1698 Böhm succeededChristian Flor as organist of the principal church ofLüneburg, the Church of St. John (Johanniskirche). Soon after Flor died in 1697, Böhm applied for an audition for the post, mentioning that he had no regular employment at the time. He was promptly accepted by the town council, settled in Lüneburg and held the position until his death. He married and had five sons.[1] From 1700 to 1702 he must have met and possibly tutored the youngJohann Sebastian Bach, who arrived in Lüneburg in 1700 and studied at the Michaelisschule, a school associated with theChurch of St. Michael (Michaeliskirche).[2] Practically no direct evidence exists to prove that Bach studied under Böhm, and indeed studying with the organist of the Johanniskirche would have been difficult for a pupil of the Michaelisschule, since the two choirs were not on good terms. Yet this apprenticeship is extremely likely.Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, writing toJohann Nikolaus Forkel in 1775, claimed his father loved and studied Böhm's music, and a correction in his note shows that his first thought was to say that Böhm was Johann Sebastian's teacher.[2] On 31 August 2006 the discovery of the earliest known Bach autographs was announced, one of them (a copy ofReincken's famous chorale fantasia on "An Wasserflüssen Babylon") signed "Il Fine â Dom. Georg: Böhme descriptum ao. 1700 Lunaburgi". The "Dom." bit may suggest either "domus" (house) or "Dominus" (master), but in any case it proves that Bach knew Böhm personally.[3] This connection must have become a close friendship that lasted for many years, for in 1727 Bach named none other than Böhm as his northern agent for the sale ofkeyboard partitas nos. 2 and 3.[2]
Böhm died on 18 May 1733 at the advanced age of 71. His son Jakob Christian, who would have inherited his post, died young. The position eventually went to Ludwig Ernst Hartmann, Böhm's son-in-law.[1]
Böhm is mainly known for his compositions fororgan andharpsichord (primarilypreludes,fugues, andpartitas). Many of his works were designed with flexibility of instrument in mind: a particular piece could be played on the organ, the harpsichord, or theclavichord, depending on the situation in which the performer found himself. Böhm's music is notable for its use of thestylus phantasticus, a style of playing based on improvisation.
Böhm's most important contribution to North German keyboard music is thechorale partita, a large-scale composition consisting of several variations on a particular chorale melody. He effectively invented the genre, writing several partitas of varying lengths and on diverse tunes. Later composers also took up the genre, most notablyJohann Sebastian Bach. Böhm's chorale partitas feature sophisticated figuration in several voices over the harmonic structure of the chorale. His partitas generally have a rustic character and can be successfully performed on either the organ or the harpsichord.
For a more complete list, see bibliography in McLean.
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