rv everything added by User:Galassi as copyvio from Grove Music Online |
work in progress |
||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Silvius Leopold Weiss''' ( |
'''Silvius Leopold Weiss''' (b Breslau [now Wrocław], ?12 Oct 1686; d Dresden, 16 Oct 1750)) was an important [[Germany|German]] [[composer]] and [[lute]]nist. Born in [[Breslau]], the son of [[Johann Jacob Weiss]], also a lutenist, he served at courts in Breslau, [[Rome]], and [[Dresden]], where he died. Until recently, he was thought to have been born in [[1686]], but recent evidence suggests that he was in fact born the following year. |
||
Weiss was one of the best-known and most technically accomplished lutenists of his day. He was also a |
Weiss was one of the best-known and most technically accomplished lutenists of his day. He was also a first rate composer for the instrument, and wrote about 600 pieces for it. Many of his works are grouped into [[suites]] that he himself called '[[sonata (music)|sonata]]s' (not to be confused with the later classical sonata based on [[sonata form]]). Weiss also wrote [[chamber music|chamber]] pieces and [[concerto]]s, but no complete example survives. |
||
In later life, Weiss became a friend of [[Johann Sebastian Bach|J.S. Bach]]. |
In later life, Weiss became a friend of [[Wilhelm Friedemann Bach]] and his father [[Johann Sebastian Bach|J.S. Bach]]. Weiss and Bach were said to have competed in improvisation, as the following account by [[J. F. Reichardt]] describes: |
||
''"Anyone who knows how difficult it is to play harmonic modulations and good counterpoint on the lute will be surprised and full of disbelief to hear from eyewitnesses that Weiss, the great lutenist, challenged J. S. Bach, the great harpsichordist and organist, at playing fantasies and fugues."'' |
''"Anyone who knows how difficult it is to play harmonic modulations and good counterpoint on the |
||
lute will be surprised and full of disbelief to hear from eyewitnesses that Weiss, the great lutenist, challenged J. S. Bach, the great harpsichordist and organist, at playing fantasies and fugues."'' |
|||
By 1706 he was inducted in the service of Count Carl Philipp of the Palatinate, who was then resident in Breslau. His earliest datable sonata, no.7 in Crawford catalogue (1706), was written while he was on a visit to the court of the count’s brother in Düsseldorf. He spent 1710–14 in Italy with the Polish Prince Alexander Sobiesky. The prince lived in Rome with his mother Queen Maria Casimira, who engaged first Alessandro and later (1709) Domenico Scarlatti as her music director. Thus Weiss doubtless worked with the Scarlattis, and probably was exposed to the music of Corelli and other composers in Rome. According to recent research Weiss married in Rome, but his wife is presumed dying in childbirth sometime ca. 1713. After the prince’s death in late 1714 Weiss returned to the North. He reentered anew the service of Carl Philipp, now Imperial Governor of the Tyrol, perhaps as early as 1715. By 1717 he was a member of the Hofkapelle of the Saxon court in Dresden. He was formally appointed to the chapel in August 1718 with a high salary, and by 1744, he was the highest-paid instrumentalist at the court. Weiss’s activity as a performer nearly came to a premature end when in 1722 he was attacked by a French violinist named Petit who attempted to bite off the top joint of his right thumb. Handwritten notes by Weiss found in continuo parts to operas by J.A. Hasse which were performed at court between 1731 and 1749, suggest that Weiss was regularly involved in ensemble performance (see Timothy Burris' dissertation); this activity may have been as important as his duties as a solo performer. |
|||
WORKS |
|||
Editions: Silvius Leopold Weiss, Sämtliche Werke für Laute in Tabulatur und Übertragung, i–iv, ed. D.A. Smith (Frankfurt, 1983–90), v–x, ed. T. Crawford (Kassel, 2000–) [SC] Silvius Leopold Weiss, Intavolatura di liuto, ed. R. Chiesa (Milan, 1967–8) [CH]Deutsche Lautenmusik des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts: Solowerke von Esaias Reusner und Silvius Leopold Weiss, ed. H. Neemann, EDM, 1st ser., xii (1939) [N] The Moscow ‘Weiss’ Manuscript, ed. T. Crawford (Columbus, OH, 1995) [CR]Silvius Leopold Weiss: 34 Suiten für Laute Solo, ed. W. Reich (Leipzig, 1977) [facs. of MS in D-Dlb; incl. SC nos.33–60] Music for the Lute: Ernst Gottlieb Baron and Sylvius Leopold Weiss, with introduction by A. Schlegel (Peer, 1992) [facs.of MS in B-Brl] [SCH] Catalogue in BrookB [repr. of 1769 Breitkopf catalogue], cols.369–75 [60 numbered partitas and 6 Partite Grande] [B]Catalogue in Klima (1974) [K] Catalogue in appendix to Smith (1977) [S] |
|||
--External Links-- |
|||
http://slweiss.com |
|||
[[Category:1687 births|Weiss, Sylvius Leopold]] |
[[Category:1687 births|Weiss, Sylvius Leopold]] |
Revision as of 19:44, 20 August 2006
Silvius Leopold Weiss (b Breslau [now Wrocław], ?12 Oct 1686; d Dresden, 16 Oct 1750)) was an important German composer and lutenist. Born in Breslau, the son of Johann Jacob Weiss, also a lutenist, he served at courts in Breslau, Rome, and Dresden, where he died. Until recently, he was thought to have been born in 1686, but recent evidence suggests that he was in fact born the following year.
Weiss was one of the best-known and most technically accomplished lutenists of his day. He was also a first rate composer for the instrument, and wrote about 600 pieces for it. Many of his works are grouped into suites that he himself called 'sonatas' (not to be confused with the later classical sonata based on sonata form). Weiss also wrote chamber pieces and concertos, but no complete example survives.
In later life, Weiss became a friend of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and his father J.S. Bach. Weiss and Bach were said to have competed in improvisation, as the following account by J. F. Reichardt describes:
"Anyone who knows how difficult it is to play harmonic modulations and good counterpoint on the lute will be surprised and full of disbelief to hear from eyewitnesses that Weiss, the great lutenist, challenged J. S. Bach, the great harpsichordist and organist, at playing fantasies and fugues."
By 1706 he was inducted in the service of Count Carl Philipp of the Palatinate, who was then resident in Breslau. His earliest datable sonata, no.7 in Crawford catalogue (1706), was written while he was on a visit to the court of the count’s brother in Düsseldorf. He spent 1710–14 in Italy with the Polish Prince Alexander Sobiesky. The prince lived in Rome with his mother Queen Maria Casimira, who engaged first Alessandro and later (1709) Domenico Scarlatti as her music director. Thus Weiss doubtless worked with the Scarlattis, and probably was exposed to the music of Corelli and other composers in Rome. According to recent research Weiss married in Rome, but his wife is presumed dying in childbirth sometime ca. 1713. After the prince’s death in late 1714 Weiss returned to the North. He reentered anew the service of Carl Philipp, now Imperial Governor of the Tyrol, perhaps as early as 1715. By 1717 he was a member of the Hofkapelle of the Saxon court in Dresden. He was formally appointed to the chapel in August 1718 with a high salary, and by 1744, he was the highest-paid instrumentalist at the court. Weiss’s activity as a performer nearly came to a premature end when in 1722 he was attacked by a French violinist named Petit who attempted to bite off the top joint of his right thumb. Handwritten notes by Weiss found in continuo parts to operas by J.A. Hasse which were performed at court between 1731 and 1749, suggest that Weiss was regularly involved in ensemble performance (see Timothy Burris' dissertation); this activity may have been as important as his duties as a solo performer.
WORKS Editions: Silvius Leopold Weiss, Sämtliche Werke für Laute in Tabulatur und Übertragung, i–iv, ed. D.A. Smith (Frankfurt, 1983–90), v–x, ed. T. Crawford (Kassel, 2000–) [SC] Silvius Leopold Weiss, Intavolatura di liuto, ed. R. Chiesa (Milan, 1967–8) [CH]Deutsche Lautenmusik des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts: Solowerke von Esaias Reusner und Silvius Leopold Weiss, ed. H. Neemann, EDM, 1st ser., xii (1939) [N] The Moscow ‘Weiss’ Manuscript, ed. T. Crawford (Columbus, OH, 1995) [CR]Silvius Leopold Weiss: 34 Suiten für Laute Solo, ed. W. Reich (Leipzig, 1977) [facs. of MS in D-Dlb; incl. SC nos.33–60] Music for the Lute: Ernst Gottlieb Baron and Sylvius Leopold Weiss, with introduction by A. Schlegel (Peer, 1992) [facs.of MS in B-Brl] [SCH] Catalogue in BrookB [repr. of 1769 Breitkopf catalogue], cols.369–75 [60 numbered partitas and 6 Partite Grande] [B]Catalogue in Klima (1974) [K] Catalogue in appendix to Smith (1977) [S]
--External Links--
http://slweiss.com