He was born at Meeder in Coburg. He was the son of a cobbler, and received early musical training, especially in keyboard playing, from Johann Heinrich Schulthesius, who was the local Kantor. In other aspects of his music education he was self-taught, especially in regards to theory. As a teenager he served as a singer in Lüneburg, and studied law for two years at the University of Göttingen; he remained associated with the University for more than fifty years, where he held varied positions, including instructor of music theory, organist, keyboard teacher, and eventually director of all music at the university. In 1787 he received an honorary doctorate of philosophy from the institution.
Forkel is often regarded as the founder of Historical Musicology, for it is with him that the study of music history and theory became an academic discipline with rigorous standards of scholarship.
He was an enthusiastic admirer of Johann Sebastian Bach, whose music he did much to popularize. He also wrote the first biography of Bach (in 1802),[2] one which is of particular value today, as he was still able to correspond directly with Bach's sons Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, and thereby obtained much valuable information that would otherwise have been lost.
His library, which was accumulated with care and discrimination at a time when rare books were cheap, forms a valuable portion of the Berlin State Library and also of the library of the Königliche Institut für Kirchenmusik.
He died at Göttingen.
Selected works
Forkel's writings include:
Über die Theorie der Musik (Göttingen, 1777)
Musikalisch kritische Bibliothek (Gotha, 1778)
Allgemeine Geschichte der Musik (Leipzig, 1788, 1801)[3]
Allgemeine Litteratur der Musik: oder, Anleitung zur Kenntniss musikalischer Bücher, welche von den ältesten bis auf die neusten Zeiten bey den Griechen, Römern und den meisten neuern europäischen Nationen sind geschrieben worden; systematisch geordnet, und nach Veranlassung mit Anmerkungen und Urtheilen begleitet (Leipzig 1792), known in English as Dictionary of Musical Literature
To his musical compositions, which are numerous, little interest is to be attached today. However it is worth noting that he wrote variations on "God Save the King" for the clavichord, and that Georg Joseph Vogler wrote a sharp criticism on them, which appeared at Frankfurt in 1793 together with a set of variations as he conceived they ought to be written.
^Allgemeine Geschichte der Musik (Leipzig, 1788, 1801) 28 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine at Universities of Strasbourg Digital Library
Sources
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Forkel, Johann Nikolaus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 666.
Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Work at Project Gutenberg, translation by Charles Sanford Terry of Ueber Johann Sebastian Bachs Leben, Kunst und Kunstwerke by Johann Nikolaus Forkel (1802). New York: Harcourt, Brace and Howe. 1920 (e-version: 2011).
External links
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johann, nikolaus, forkel, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, articl. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Johann Nikolaus Forkel news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations June 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Johann Nikolaus Forkel 22 February 1749 20 March 1818 was a German musicologist and music theorist generally regarded as among the founders of modern musicology 1 His publications include Johann Sebastian Bach His Life Art and Work the first substantial survey on the life and works of Johann Sebastian Bach Forkel in a 1813 engraving by Carl Traugott Riedel Johann Nikolaus ForkelBornJohann Nikolaus Forkel 1749 02 22 22 February 1749Died20 March 1818 1818 03 20 aged 69 Contents 1 Biography 2 Selected works 3 References 4 Sources 5 External linksBiography EditHe was born at Meeder in Coburg He was the son of a cobbler and received early musical training especially in keyboard playing from Johann Heinrich Schulthesius who was the local Kantor In other aspects of his music education he was self taught especially in regards to theory As a teenager he served as a singer in Luneburg and studied law for two years at the University of Gottingen he remained associated with the University for more than fifty years where he held varied positions including instructor of music theory organist keyboard teacher and eventually director of all music at the university In 1787 he received an honorary doctorate of philosophy from the institution Forkel is often regarded as the founder of Historical Musicology for it is with him that the study of music history and theory became an academic discipline with rigorous standards of scholarship He was an enthusiastic admirer of Johann Sebastian Bach whose music he did much to popularize He also wrote the first biography of Bach in 1802 2 one which is of particular value today as he was still able to correspond directly with Bach s sons Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and thereby obtained much valuable information that would otherwise have been lost His library which was accumulated with care and discrimination at a time when rare books were cheap forms a valuable portion of the Berlin State Library and also of the library of the Konigliche Institut fur Kirchenmusik He died at Gottingen Selected works EditForkel s writings include Uber die Theorie der Musik Gottingen 1777 Musikalisch kritische Bibliothek Gotha 1778 Allgemeine Geschichte der Musik Leipzig 1788 1801 3 Allgemeine Litteratur der Musik oder Anleitung zur Kenntniss musikalischer Bucher welche von den altesten bis auf die neusten Zeiten bey den Griechen Romern und den meisten neuern europaischen Nationen sind geschrieben worden systematisch geordnet und nach Veranlassung mit Anmerkungen und Urtheilen begleitet Leipzig 1792 known in English as Dictionary of Musical Literature Ueber Johann Sebastian Bachs Leben Kunst und Kunstwerke Fur patriotische Verehrer echter musikalischer Kunst Leipzig 1802 2 To his musical compositions which are numerous little interest is to be attached today However it is worth noting that he wrote variations on God Save the King for the clavichord and that Georg Joseph Vogler wrote a sharp criticism on them which appeared at Frankfurt in 1793 together with a set of variations as he conceived they ought to be written References Edit Stauffer George B 2001 Forkel Johann Nicolaus Grove Music Online Oxford Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 gmo 9781561592630 article 09979 ISBN 978 1 56159 263 0 a b Forkel Terry 1920 2011 p xii Allgemeine Geschichte der Musik Leipzig 1788 1801 Archived 28 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine at Universities of Strasbourg Digital LibrarySources Edit This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Forkel Johann Nikolaus Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 10 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 666 Johann Sebastian Bach His Life Art and Work at Project Gutenberg translation by Charles Sanford Terry of Ueber Johann Sebastian Bachs Leben Kunst und Kunstwerke by Johann Nikolaus Forkel 1802 New York Harcourt Brace and Howe 1920 e version 2011 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Johann Nikolaus Forkel German Wikisource has original text related to this article Johann Nikolaus Forkel Free scores by Johann Nikolaus Forkel at the International Music Score Library Project IMSLP Literature by and about Johann Nikolaus Forkel in the German National Library catalogue Works by Johann Nikolaus Forkel at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Johann Nikolaus Forkel at Internet Archive Works by Johann Nikolaus Forkel at LibriVox public domain audiobooks Portals Classical music Biography Music Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Johann Nikolaus Forkel amp oldid 1129428874, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
