A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Graupner, Christoph
GRAUPNER, Christoph, composer, born 1683 or 84 at Kirchberg in Saxony, near the Erzgebirge; came early to Leipzig, where he studied nine years at the Thomas-schule under Cantors Schelle and Kuhnau. He began to study law, but was driven by the Swedish invasion to take refuge in Hamburg, where he passed three years as harpsichord player at the opera under Keiser. The Landgrave Ernst Ludwig of Hesse Darmstadt, then staying in Hamburg, having appointed him his vice-Capellmeister, he removed in 1710 to Darmstadt, and in the same year was promoted to the Capellmeistership on the death of Briegel. Here he did much to elevate both sacred and dramatic music, and greatly improved the court performances, the excellence of which is mentioned by Telemann. In 1723 he was proposed, together with Bach and Telemann, for the post of Cantor at the Thomas-schule (when Bach was elected), but he preferred remaining in Darmstadt. In 1750 he lost his sight, a great trial to so active a man, and died May 10, 1760, in his 78th year.
Graupner worked almost day and night; he even engraved his own pieces for the clavier, many of which are very pleasing. Of his operas the following were produced in Hamburg:—'Dido' (1707), 'Hercules und Theseus', 'Antiochus in Stratonica', 'Bellerophon' (1708), and 'Simson' (i.e. Samson—1709) After this he wrote only church and chamber music. Between the years 1719 and 45 he composed more than 1300 pieces for the service in the Schloss-kirche at Darmstadt—figured chorales, pieces for one and more voices, and chorales with accompaniment for organ and orchestra. The court library at Darmstadt contains the autograph scores and the separate parts of these, which were printed at the Landgrave's expense; Superintendent Lichtenberg furnished the words. The same library also contains in MS. 50 concertos for different instruments in score; 80 overtures; 116 symphonies; several sonatas and trios for different instruments in various combinations, mostly in score; 6 Sonatas for the harpsichord, with gigues, preludes, and fugues. Of his printed works there also exist 8 'Partien' for the Clavier {1718); 'Monatliche Clavier-Früchte', consisting of preludes, allemandes, courantes, sarabandes, minuets, and gigues (Darmstadt 1722); 'Die vier Jahreszeiten', 4 suites for clavier (Frankfurt 1733); and 'VIII Partien auf das Clavier,' dedicated to the Landgrave Ernst Ludwig (Darmstadt 1726). We must also mention his 'Neu vermehrtes Choralbuch' (Frankfurt, Gerhardt, 1728). Graupner's autobiography is printed in Mattheson's Ehrenpforte, page 410.