Christian Ferdinand Abel

Portrait of the Abel family (Ch. F. Abel is on the left)

Christian Ferdinand Abel (July or August 1682, Hanover, Germany – buried 3 April 1761 (or 1737?), Köthen, Germany) was one of the most famous German Baroque violinists, cellists and especially viol virtuosos.

His father was a composer, violinist and organist Clamor Heinrich Abel. For some time Christian served in the Swedish army of Charles XII during the occupation of the northern Germany. There he married Swede Anna Christina Holm.

Then he went to Berlin, where he was a prominent member of the Hofkapelle of the king Frederick I of Prussia. He remained there until its dissolution by Frederick William I of Prussia in 1713. With several of his colleagues he moved to Köthen to work in 1714 founded Hofkapelle as a violinist and gambist under Augustin Reinhard Stricker. After Stricker's successor Johann Sebastian Bach, he held office as a Premier-Musicus of the Hofkapelle. Bach was godfather of his daughter Sophie-Charlotte born on 6 January 1720 in Köthen. In the same year, Abel and Bach accompanied the Prince Leopold on his trip to Carlsbad. It is believed that Bach composed his three sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord BWV 1027-1029 probably for Abel to teach Leopold to play the viol. In 1723, Bach left Köthen to accept a post of cantor at the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig leaving his post in municipal orchestra free and therefore Abel succeeded him.

Abel spent the rest of his life in Köthen, where he was also buried.

Abel's son Carl Friedrich Abel born in 1723 in Köthen was also a productive and known composer and gamba virtuoso. But he was most known for founding London Bach-Abel concerts in collaboration with Johann Christian Bach, the first subscription concerts in England. His oldest son Leopold August Abel was also a composer and violinist

Sources

• German and Spanish Wikipedia article

Persondata
Name	Abel, Christian Ferdinand
Alternative names
Short description	German Baroque violinist, cellist and viol virtuoso
Date of birth	July or August 1682
Place of birth	Hanover, Germany
Date of death	buried 3 April 1761 (or 1737?)
Place of death	Köthen, Germany