Carl Heinrich Graun (1704 – 1759) was a German
composer and tenor. Along with Johann Adolph Hasse, he
is considered to be the most important German composer
of Italian opera of his time. He was born in
Wahrenbrück in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. In
1714, he followed his brother, Johann Gottlieb Graun,
to the school of the Kreuzkirche, Dresden, and sang in
the Dresdner Kreuzchor and the chorus of the Dresden
Opera. He studied singing with Christian Petzold and
composition with Johann Christ...(+)
Carl Heinrich Graun (1704 – 1759) was a German
composer and tenor. Along with Johann Adolph Hasse, he
is considered to be the most important German composer
of Italian opera of his time. He was born in
Wahrenbrück in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. In
1714, he followed his brother, Johann Gottlieb Graun,
to the school of the Kreuzkirche, Dresden, and sang in
the Dresdner Kreuzchor and the chorus of the Dresden
Opera. He studied singing with Christian Petzold and
composition with Johann Christoph Schmidt. In 1724,
Graun moved to Braunschweig, singing at the opera house
and writing six operas for the company. In 1735, Graun
moved to Rheinsberg in Brandenburg, after he had
written the opera Lo specchio della fedeltà for the
marriage of the then crown prince Frederick (the Great)
and Elisabeth Christine in Schloss Salzdahlum in 1733.
He was Kapellmeister to Frederick the Great from his
ascension to the throne in 1740 until Graun's death
nineteen years later in Berlin.
Graun memorial in Wahrenbrück
Graun wrote a number of operas. His opera Cesare e
Cleopatra inaugurated the opening of the Berlin State
Opera (Königliche Hofoper) in 1742. Montezuma (1755)
was written to a libretto by King Frederick. His works
are rarely played today, though his passion cantata Der
Tod Jesu (The Death of Jesus, 1755) was frequently
performed in Germany for many years after his death.
His other works include concertos and trio sonatas. He
was known for particularly good text-setting, probably
due to his background as a vocalist. He married twice
and had a daughter, who became a singer, from his first
marriage and four sons from his second. His
great-great-great-great-grandson, Vladimir Nabokov,
became an eminent 20th-century novelist.
The gigue or giga is a lively baroque dance originating
from the English jig. It was imported into France in
the mid-17th century and usually appears at the end of
a suite. The gigue was probably never a court dance,
but it was danced by nobility on social occasions and
several court composers wrote gigues. An early Italian
dance called the giga probably derives its name from a
small accompanying stringed instrument called the giga.
Historians, such as Charles Read Baskerville, claim
that use of the word in relation to dancing took place
in England prior to such usage on the Continent. Giga
probably has a separate etymology.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Heinrich_Graun).
Although originally composed for Keyboard, I created
this interpretation of the Gigue in Bb Minor for
Concert (Pedal) Harp.
