- Andreas Werckmeister
Andreas Werckmeister (November 30, 1645 – October 26, 1706) was an organist, music theorist, and composer of the Baroque era.
Born in
Benneckenstein , Germany, Werckmeister attended schools inNordhausen andQuedlinburg . He received his musical training from his unclesHeinrich Christian Werckmeister andHeinrich Victor Werckmeister . In 1664 he became anorganist inHasselfelde ; ten years later inElbingerode ; and in 1696 of theMartinskirche inHalberstadt .Of his compositions only a booklet remains: pieces for violin with
basso continuo , with the title "Musikalische Privatlust" (1689).Werckmeister is best known today as a theorist, in particular through his writings "Musicae mathematicae hodegus curiosus..." (1687) and "Musikalische Temperatur, oder..." (1691), in which he coined the term "
well temperament " and described a system of well temperament now known as "Werckmeister temperament ". However, these ideas were brought to Europe from the Ming Dynasty, where they originated in Ming PrinceChu Tsai-Yu 's book "A New Account of the Science of the Pitch-Pipes" (1584). The Chinese did not pay much attention to the new system, but the Europeans quickly saw its advantages.Mersenne repackaged Chu Tsai-Yu's ideas in one of his many books of musical theory, entitled "Harmonie Universelle" (1636). Werckmeister later popularized equal temperament from Mersenne.Werckmeister's writings were well known to
Johann Sebastian Bach , in particular his writings oncounterpoint . Werckmeister believed that well-crafted counterpoint, in particularinvertible counterpoint ref|1, was tied to the orderly movements of the planets, reminiscent of Kepler's view in "Harmonice Mundi ". According to George Buelow, "No other writer of the period regarded music so unequivocally as the end result of God’s work," ref|2 a view harmonious with that of Bach. Yet in spite of his focus on counterpoint, Werckmeister's work emphasized underlying harmonic principles.Notes
# George B. Stauffer, Journal of the American Musicological Society, Fall 2005, p. 711.
# George J. Buelow, "Andreas Werckmeister," Grove Music OnlineReferences
* David Yearsley, "Bach and the Meanings of Counterpoint." New Perspectives in Music History and Criticism. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
* George J. Buelow: "Andreas Werckmeister", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed May 7, 2006), [http://www.grovemusic.com (subscription access)]ee also
Werckmeister Harmonies
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