Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (ca. 1620–1623 – 1680)
was an Austrian composer and violinist of the middle
Baroque era. Almost nothing is known about his early
years, but he seems to have arrived in Vienna during
the 1630s, and remained composer and musician at the
Habsburg court for the rest of his life. He enjoyed a
close relationship with Emperor Leopold I, was ennobled
by him, and rose to the rank of Kapellmeister in 1679.
He died during a plague epidemic only months after
getting the positio...(+)
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (ca. 1620–1623 – 1680)
was an Austrian composer and violinist of the middle
Baroque era. Almost nothing is known about his early
years, but he seems to have arrived in Vienna during
the 1630s, and remained composer and musician at the
Habsburg court for the rest of his life. He enjoyed a
close relationship with Emperor Leopold I, was ennobled
by him, and rose to the rank of Kapellmeister in 1679.
He died during a plague epidemic only months after
getting the position. He was one of the most important
violinists of the period, and an important influence on
later German and Austrian composers for violin. He made
substantial contributions to the development of violin
technique and promoted the use and development of
sonata and suite forms in Austria and South Germany.
Schmelzer had an important influence on the Austrian
violinist and composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber
(1644-1704), who is believed to have been one of
Schmelzer's students.
Schmelzer was born in Scheibbs, Lower Austria. Nothing
is known about his early years, and most of the
surviving information about his background was
recounted by the composer himself in his petition for
ennoblement of 1673. He described his father as a
soldier, but in another document, the 1645 marriage
certificate of Schmelzer's sister Eva Rosina, he is
listed as a baker. Schmelzer does not mention his
father's name, but Eva Rosina's marriage certificate
does: Daniel Schmelzer. At any rate, it remains unclear
where and from whom Schmelzer received primary music
education. His activities before 1643 are similarly
unknown–the composer is first mentioned in a document
dated 28 June 1643, relating to his first marriage. He
is referred to as a cornettist at St. Stephen's
Cathedral (Stephansdom), Vienna. The date of his
arrival to Vienna is unknown, but he probably worked at
the court chapel in the late 1630s, in the employ of
Ferdinand II and, after 1637, Ferdinand III.
Schmelzer's colleagues at the chapel included such
distinguished composers as Johann Jakob Froberger,
Giovanni Valentini, and Antonio Bertali.
Schmelzer was officially appointed court violinist in
1649. Our knowledge of his position, duties, and
activities is incomplete. He apparently rose to
prominence as a violin virtuoso, as well as a composer,
and enjoyed a close relationship with Emperor Leopold
I, who was a well-known patron of the arts and a
composer himself. Schmelzer started publishing his
music in 1659. He was appointed vice-Kapellmeister on
13 April 1671. On 14 June 1673, after the composer
petitioned for ennoblement, the Emperor raised
Schmelzer to the ranks of nobility; Schmelzer now added
von Ehrenruef to his name. Eventually, after his
predecessor Giovanni Felice Sances had died, Schmelzer
became Kapellmeister, on 1 October 1679. Unfortunately,
he fell victim of the plague early in 1680, and died in
Prague, where the Viennese court moved in an attempt to
evade the epidemic.
Four of his children are known: Andreas Anton Schmelzer
(1653 – 1701), a composer; Peter Clemens Schmelzer
(1672 – 1746), a lesser composer; Franz Heinrich
Schmelzer (born 1678), a Jesuit priest; and George
Joseph Schmelzer (dates unknown).
Schmelzer attained a high reputation in a field (violin
playing and violin composition) which at the time was
dominated by Italians; indeed, one traveler referred to
him in 1660 as "the famous and nearly most
distinguished violinist in all Europe". Schmelzer's
Sonatae unarum fidium of 1664 was the first collection
of sonatas for violin and basso continuo to be
published by a German-speaking composer. It contains
the brilliant virtuosity, sectional structure, and
lengthy ground-bass variations typical of the
mid-Baroque violin sonata.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Heinrich_Schmelze
r).
Although originally composed for Recorders, I created
this Interpretation of the Sonata á 7 for Winds
(Flute, Oboe & English Horn) & Strings (2 Violins,
Viola & Cello).
