Johann Christian Schickhardt

Johann Christian Schickhardt (c. 1682 in Braunschweig - 1762 in Leiden) was a German composer and woodwind player.

Biography

Schickhardt was born in Braunschweig (Brunswick) and received his musical education at the court of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel under the patronage of Augustus William, third son and heir of Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel [ [http://www.jstor.org/pss/939090 Lasocki, David. "Johann Christian Schickhardt (ca.1682-1762). A Contribution to His Biography and a Catalogue of His Works." Tijdschrift van de Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis, (1977), pp. 28-55.] ] . In the first decade of the 18th century, he was employed in the Netherlands and associated with Friedrich of Hesse-Cassel, Henriëtte Amalia van Anhalt-Dessau (daughter of John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau and widow of Henry Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz) and her son John William Friso, Prince of Orange [ibid.] . In the second decade of the 18th century, Schickhardt lived in Hamburg, where it is speculated by musicologist Andrew D. McCredie that he was a member of the Hamburg Opera in Gänsemarkt as a flutist or oboist [ibid.] . There is evidence suggesting that, in the 1720s, Schickhardt could have been an occasional oboist at the court orchestra of Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, employer of Johann Sebastian Bach [ibid.] . By the 1740s, records place Schickhardt at the University of Leiden as a student, and at his death in 1762, the university described him as "a master of musical arts and a member of the Academy," although there is no surviving record of his musical activity in Leiden otherwise [ibid.] .

Works

In the first half of the 18th century, numerous works of his, mostly chamber music featuring the treble recorder, appeared in print from publishers [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estienne_Roger Estienne Roger] and [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel-Charles_Le_C%C3%A8ne Le Cène] in Amsterdam. At least 30 sets of musical works are known to have been published, some of which are no longer extant. A catalog of Schickhardt's published and manuscript works can be found in [http://www.jstor.org/pss/939090 David Lasocki's article] . With the revival of the treble recorder in the early 20th century, a great interest in suitable repertoire for the instrument developed and some of Schickhardt's works were republished in new editions. It is predominantly through his works for recorder that Schickhardt is known today.

Schickhardt's compositions include sonatas for solo recorder and basso continuo (op. 1 and op. 17) as well as trio sonatas for two recorders and basso continuo (op. 16). Besides these, there are also compositions that stand between the chamber and larger scale concert music styles, e.g., his op. 9 for four recorders and basso continuo and his six sonatas for recorder, two oboes, and basso continuo. Some short works by Schickhardt can also be found in the "The Compleat Tutor to the Hautboy", an oboe tutor published by Walsh and Hare in ca. 1715 [ibid.] . Additionally, Schickhardt wrote a recorder concerto in G minor and "L'Alphabet de la musique" (op. 30, circa 1735), which contains sonatas in all 24 keys [ [http://diapason.xentonic.org/dp/dp054.html L'Alphabet de la musique, Diapason Press] ] .

References

External links

[http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Christian_Schickhardt German Wikipedia entry on Johann Christian Schickhardt] , of which a rough translation is incorporated in this article.

[http://www.jstor.org/pss/939090 Lasocki, David. "Johann Christian Schickhardt (ca.1682-1762). A Contribution to His Biography and a Catalogue of His Works." Tijdschrift van de Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis, (1977), pp. 28-55.]

[http://diapason.xentonic.org/dp/dp054.html L'Alphabet de la musique, Diapason Press]