- Franz Abt
Franz Wilhelm Abt (
22 December 1819 -31 March 1885 ) was a Germancomposer .He was born at
Eilenburg inPrussian Saxony , and showed musical talent early.His father was a clergyman, and Franz, though destined to the same profession, received a sound musicaleducation, and was allowed to pursue both objects at theThomas School and Universityof Leipzig. His first works were published in that city.He was
kapellmeister atBernburg in 1841, then moved toZürich in the same year. He became musical director at the court theater in Brunswick from 1852 to 1882. He retired toWiesbaden , and died there in 1885.Music
Abt composed over 500 pieces during his lifetime, his songs being most popular with the best known being "When the Swallows Homeward Fly". His songs, written for one or more voices, betray an easy fluency of invention, couched in pleasing popular forms, but without pretence to depthor individuality. Many of his songs, were at one time universally sung, and have obtained amore or less permanent place in the popular repertory. His greatest successes in Germanyand Switzerland have been obtained in part-songs for men's voices. He also composed three
operas : "Des Königs Scharfschütz", "Die Hauptprobe", and "Reisebekanntschaften". In the early part of his life Abt composed much for the pianoforte, chiefly pieces of light salon character. These have never had the same popularity as his vocal works.References
*This article includes material from the
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , second editionExternal links
* [http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/a/abt.html] The Lied and Art Song Texts Page created and mantained from Emily Ezust
* [http://www.morrisonfoundation.org/Franz_Abt.htm Abt info at Morris Foundation]
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