Composer. A significant representative of the German Baroque era. Born in Niederdorla, Thuringia, Germany, he studied music in Dresden with Heinrich Schutz and in Hamburg with Jacob Praetorius. His first major appointment, in 1637, was as organist of the Electoral Court of Saxony. After spending most of the 1640s in Danish exile because of the Thirty Years' War, he returned to Germany and served as organist of the Jakobkirche in Hamburg from 1655 until his death. In 1660 he founded Hamburg's Collegium Musicum, which became one of Europe's finest instrumental ensembles. Weckmann was one of the great musical eclectics of his time. Schutz remained his model, but Italian, French, and even English influences can be found in his style; and though he produced nothing for the stage, his music is marked by a strong sense of drama. This is heard at its most powerful in his "Lamentations of Jeremiah" (1663), written in the shadow of a plague epidemic that killed many of his colleagues in Hamburg, among them the great Heinrich Scheidemann. He was also notable for his Sacred Concertos (predecessors of the religious cantata), sinfonias, and chamber pieces. After his death Weckmann was completely forgotten until the 19th Century, when scholars researching the forerunners of Bach rediscovered his music.
Composer. A significant representative of the German Baroque era. Born in Niederdorla, Thuringia, Germany, he studied music in Dresden with Heinrich Schutz and in Hamburg with Jacob Praetorius. His first major appointment, in 1637, was as organist of the Electoral Court of Saxony. After spending most of the 1640s in Danish exile because of the Thirty Years' War, he returned to Germany and served as organist of the Jakobkirche in Hamburg from 1655 until his death. In 1660 he founded Hamburg's Collegium Musicum, which became one of Europe's finest instrumental ensembles. Weckmann was one of the great musical eclectics of his time. Schutz remained his model, but Italian, French, and even English influences can be found in his style; and though he produced nothing for the stage, his music is marked by a strong sense of drama. This is heard at its most powerful in his "Lamentations of Jeremiah" (1663), written in the shadow of a plague epidemic that killed many of his colleagues in Hamburg, among them the great Heinrich Scheidemann. He was also notable for his Sacred Concertos (predecessors of the religious cantata), sinfonias, and chamber pieces. After his death Weckmann was completely forgotten until the 19th Century, when scholars researching the forerunners of Bach rediscovered his music.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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