Johann Jakob Froberger

Life

Born: baptized 19 May 1616

Dead: Died in the night before 7 May 1669

Biography

Johann Jakob Froberger was a German Baroque composer, keyboard virtuoso, and organist. He was among the most famous composers of the era and influenced practically every major composer in Europe by developing the genre of keyboard suite and contributing greatly to the exchange of musical traditions through his many travels. He is also remembered for his highly idiomatic and personal descriptive harpsichord pieces, which are among the earliest known examples of program music. Only two of Froberger's many compositions were published during his lifetime, but his music was very widely spread in manuscript copies and he was one of the very few 17th-century composers who were never entirely forgotten.

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Froberger's surviving vocal works are only two in number. The toccatas, ricercari and fantasias from his vast keyboard output might well grace choral concerts of works by his Viennese contemporaries such as Giovanni Valentini (d1649), Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (ca.1623 — 1680), Giovanni Legrenzi (12 August 1626 — 27 May 1690), Johann Caspar Kerll, & Antonio Draghi (1634-1700).

 

List of known works

• Alleluia, absorpta est mors (STB, 2 vn, bc)
• Apparuerunt apostolis (STB, 2 vn, bc)

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External links

Works by Johann Jakob Froberger in the Petrucci Music Library (IMSLP)