Thomaskantor

Thomaskantor (Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the Thomanerchor, now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, Cantor et Director Musices, describes the two functions of cantor and director. As the cantor, he prepared the choir for service in four Lutheran churches, Thomaskirche (St. Thomas), Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas), Neue Kirche (New Church) and Peterskirche (St. Peter). As director, he organized music for city functions such as town council elections and homages. Functions related to the university took place at the Paulinerkirche. Johann Sebastian Bach was the most famous Thomaskantor, from 1723 to 1750.

Thomaskantor of Thomanerchor
Incumbent
Andreas Reize
since 2021
TypeDirector of music
Reports toLeipzig
Formation1518 (1518)
First holderGeorg Rhau

Position

Leipzig has had a university dating back to 1409, and is a commercial center, hosting a trade fair first mentioned in 1165. It has been mostly Lutheran since the Reformation. The position of Thomaskantor at Bach's time has been described as "one of the most respected and influential musical offices of Protestant Germany.[1]

The readings and required music of the Lutheran services in Leipzig were regulated in detail. The Church Book (Complete Church / Book / Containing / The Gospels and Epistles / For Every Feast-, Sun-, and Apostle Day Of the Entire Year ...) lists the prescribed readings, repeated every year.[2] The church year began with the First Sunday in Advent and was divided in feast days, fasting periods and the feast-less time after Trinity Sunday. For music, there was mainly no concert music such as a cantata during the fasting times of Advent and Lent. Modest music was performed during the second half of the church year, and rich music with more complex instrumentation and more services per day on feast days. Christmas, Easter and Pentecost were celebrated for three days each, and many other feast days were observed.[3] The library of St. Thomas contained works in vocal polyphony from the fifteenth century onward.[4]

The Thomaskantor reported to the city council, the rector of the Thomasschule and the church superintendent.[5] He had the duty to prepare the choir for service in the city's four Lutheran churches:[6] the main churches Thomaskirche (St. Thomas) and the Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas),[7] and also the Neue Kirche (New Church) and the Peterskirche (St. Peter).[8][9]

As cantor, the Thomaskantor had to compose and take care of copying, rehearsals and performances.[10] He also had to teach music and general subjects.[6] He took part in the admission process for new students to the school.[11] The choir was divided in groups: the most advanced singers performed a cantata every Sunday, alternating between St. Thomas and St. Nicholas, a second group sang at the other church, beginners on feast days at the smaller churches. On high holidays, the cantata was performed in both churches, a morning service in one and a vespers service in the other. To earn additional funding, the choir performed also for weddings and funerals.[12]

As director of music, the Thomaskantor was Leipzig's "senior musician", responsible for the music on official occasions such as town council elections and homages.[6] Functions related to the university took place at the Paulinerkirche.

Today, the Thomaskantor leads the music in services at the Thomaskirche, including weekly afternoon services called Motette which often contain a Bach cantata. He also conducts the choir in recordings and on tours.

Known holders of the position

The following table shows the names of the known people in the position, and their time of service, in chronological order from the Reformation to now.

No. No. after Bach Image Name Tenure Born Died Notes
1 Georg Rhau 1518–1520 c. 1488
in Eisfeld		 6 August 1548
in Wittenberg
2 Johannes Galliculus 1520–1525 c. 1490
in Dresden		 c. 1550
in Leipzig
3 Valerian Hüffeler 1526–1530
4 Johannes Hermann 1531–1536 1515
in Zittau		 22 April 1593
in Freiberg
5 Wolfgang Jünger 1536–1539 c. 1517
in Sayda		 4 March 1564
in Großschirma
6 Johannes Bruckner 1539–1540
7 Ulrich Lange 1540–1549 1549
in Leipzig
8 Wolfgang Figulus 1549–1551 c. 1525
in Naumburg		 1589
in Meißen
9 Melchior Heger 1553–1564 in Brüx (today Most)
10 Valentin Otto 1564–1594 1529
in Markkleeberg		 April 1594
11 Sethus Calvisius 1594–1615 21 February 1556
in Gorsleben		 24 November 1615
in Leipzig
12 Johann Hermann Schein 1615–1630 20 January 1586
in Grünhain		 19 November 1630
in Leipzig
13 Tobias Michael 1631–1657 13 June 1592
in Dresden		 26 June 1657
in Leipzig
14 Sebastian Knüpfer 1657–1676 6 September 1633
in Asch		 10 October 1676
in Leipzig
15 Johann Schelle 1677–1701 6 September 1648
in Geising		 10 March 1701
in Leipzig
16 Johann Kuhnau 1701–1722 6 April 1660
in Geising		 5 June 1722
in Leipzig
17[lower-alpha 1] Johann Sebastian Bach 1723–1750 21 March 1685
in Eisenach		 28 July 1750
in Leipzig
181 Johann Gottlob Harrer 1750–1755 1703
in Görlitz		 9 July 1755
in Karlsbad
192 Johann Friedrich Doles 1756–1789 23 April 1715
in Steinbach-Hallenberg		 8 February 1797
in Leipzig		 Longest-serving in the role.
203 Johann Adam Hiller 1789–1801 25 December 1728
in Wendisch-Ossig		 16 June 1804
in Leipzig		 1781–1785 Gewandhauskapellmeister
214 August Eberhard Müller 1801–1810 13 December 1767
in Northeim		 3 December 1817
in Weimar		 1810–1817 Großherzoglich-Sächsischer Hofkapellmeister
225 Johann Gottfried Schicht 1810–1823 29 September 1753
in Reichenau		 16 February 1823
in Leipzig
236 Christian Theodor Weinlig 1823–1842 25 July 1780
in Dresden		 7 March 1842
in Leipzig		 1814–1817 Kreuzkantor
247 Moritz Hauptmann 1842–1868 13 October 1792
in Dresden		 3 January 1868
in Leipzig
258 Ernst Friedrich Richter 1868–1879 24 October 1808
in Großschönau		 9 April 1879
in Leipzig
269 Wilhelm Rust 1880–1892 15 August 1822
in Dessau		 2 May 1892
in Leipzig
2710 Gustav Schreck 1893–1918 8 September 1849
in Zeulenroda		 22 January 1918
in Leipzig
2811 Karl Straube 1918–1939 6 January 1873
in Berlin		 27 April 1950
in Leipzig
2912 Günther Ramin 1939–1956 15 October 1898
in Karlsruhe		 27 February 1956
in Leipzig
3013 Kurt Thomas 1957–1960 25 May 1904
in Tönning		 31 March 1973
in Bad Oeynhausen
3114 Erhard Mauersberger 1961–1972 29 December 1903
in Mauersberg / Marienberg		 11 December 1982
in Leipzig
3215 Hans-Joachim Rotzsch 1972–1991 25 April 1929
in Leipzig		 24 September 2013
in Leipzig
3316 Georg Christoph Biller 1992–2015 20 September 1955
in Nebra		 27 January 2022
3417 Gotthold Schwarz 2016–2021 2 May 1952
in Zwickau
3518 Andreas Reize 2021 19 May 1975
in Solothurn, Switzerland		 First Swiss and the first Catholic

Notes
  1. Bach could theoretically be considered the 18th Thomaskantor, as after Kuhnau's death on 11 August 1723, the Leipzig city council proposed Georg Philipp Telemann as his successor. Telemann, however, was already Kantor at the local Johanneum Lateinschule in Hamburg; he immediately negotiated a salary rise with their city council, thus remaining in that post until his death.[13] After Telemann declined Leipzig council's offer, a new list of candidates was proposed, headed by Kauffmann and A.C. Tufen, then Graupner and finally Bach. Even though Graupner was formally approved by the Leipzig council, he could not take up the post, because his resignation as court Hofkapellmeister was refused by the Landgrave of Darmstadt.[14]

References
  1. Wolff 1991, p. 8.
  2. Petzoldt 2013, p. 1.
  3. Petzoldt 2013, p. 5–6.
  4. Wolff 1991, p. 93.
  5. Wolff 1991, p. 38.
  6. Wolff 1991, p. 30.
  7. Dürr 1971, p. 219.
  8. Peter 2015.
  9. Wolff 2002, p. 251–252.
  10. Wolff 1991, p. 39.
  11. Wolff 2002, p. 247.
  12. Wolff 2002, p. 246.
  13. Basso, Alberto (2018). Frau Musika, la vita e le opere di J.S. Bach, 1 : le origini familiari, l'ambiente luterano, gli anni giovanili, Weimar e Köthen (1685–1723) (in Italian). Torino: EDT. p. 547. ISBN 978-88-592-4742-5. OCLC 1043531226.
  14. Wolff 2002, p. 224.

Bibliography
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