Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe

Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe (November 30, 1796 - April 20, 1869), usually called Carl Loewe, was a German composer, baritone singer and conductor. In his lifetime, his songs were well enough known for some to call him the "Schubert of North Germany", and Hugo Wolf came to admire his work. He is less known today, but a number of his 400 or so songs are still occasionally performed.

Life and career

Loewe was born in Löbejün and received his first music lessons from his father. He was a choir-boy, first at Köthen, and later at Halle, where he went to grammar school. The beauty of Loewe's voice brought him under the notice of Madame de Stal, who procured him a pension from Jerome Bonaparte, then king of Westphalia, which enabled him to further his education in music, and to study theology at Halle University. This ended in 1813, on the flight of the king.

In 1820, he moved to Stettin (Szczecin), where he worked as organist and music director of the school. It was while there that he did most of his work as a composer, publishing a version of Goethe's "Erlkönig" in 1824 (written 1817-18) which some say rivals Schubert's far more famous version. He went on to set many other poets' work, including Friedrich Rückert, and translations of William Shakespeare and Lord Byron.

In 1821 he married Julie von Jacob, who died in 1823. His second wife, Auguste Lange, was an accomplished singer, and they appeared together in his oratorio performances with great success.

Later in life, Loewe became very popular both as a composer and as a singer, and he made several tours as a singer in the 1840s and 1850s, visiting England, France, Sweden and Norway amongst other countries. He eventually moved back to Germany, and, after quitting his posts in Stettin after 46 years, moved to Kiel, where he died from a stroke on 20 April 1869.

Loewe wrote five operas, of which only one, "Die drei Wünsche", was performed at Berlin in 1834, without much success; seventeen oratorios, many of them for male voices unaccompanied, or with short instrumental interludes only; choral ballads, cantatas, three string quartets (his opus 24 [cite web|title=The Wurlitzer Collection|url=http://www.libraries.uc.edu/libraries/ccm/special_collections/WurlitzerCollection.html|accessdate=2008-07-16] ), and a pianoforte trio [in G minor, his opus 12, broadcast - see http://www.ndrkultur.de/programm/programmueberblick/programmuebersicht/nkult858.pdf] ; a work for clarinet and piano, published posthumously; and some piano solos. But the branch of his art by which he is remembered, and in which he must be admitted to have attained perfection, is the solo ballad with pianoforte accompaniment. His treatment of long narrative poems, in a clever mixture of the dramatic and lyrical styles, was undoubtedly modelled on the ballads of Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, and has been copied by many composers since his day. His settings of the "Erlkönig" (a very early example), "Archibald Douglas", "Heinrich der Vogler", "Edward and Die Verfallene Mühle", are particularly fine.

There are at least two symphonies by Loewe - one, in D minor, has been recorded on the Koch Schwann label together with the first of at least two CD recordings of Loewe's second piano concerto (in A major), and another, in E minor, was given its first performance in 170 years in November 2004 [cite web|title=2004 Loewe Festtage Program, with Premiere of E-minor Symphony|url=http://www.carl-loewe-gesellschaft.de/?cid=104125000818|language=German|accessdate=2008-07-16] . (The cpo series of recordings of Loewe's complete ballads includes as well a recording of two piano sonatas and a "tone poem in sonata form", with one of the sonatas - the E major of 1829 - having a vocal part for soprano and baritone [cite web|url=http://www.recordsinternational.com/archive/RICatalogJuly97.html
title=Records International Description of cpo Loewe Sonatas CD|date=July 1997|accessdate=2008-07-16] .)

In 1875, at Bayreuth, Richard Wagner remarked of Loewe, 'Ha, das ist ein ernster, mit Bedeutung die schöne deutsche Sprache behandelnder, nicht hoch genug zu ehrender deutscher Meister, echt und wahr!' (Ha, that is a serious German Master, authentic and true, one who uses the beautiful German language with meaning, one who cannot be sufficiently revered!) (Hans Joachim Moser, "Das Deutsche Lied seit Mozart" (Berlin 1937), 135 n.2.)

ong Cycles

Acht Jugendlieder
#An die Natur
#Die treuen Schwalben
#Das Blumenopfer
#Romanze
#An die Nachtigall
#Die Jagd
#Heimweh
#Sehnsucht

Serbischer Liederkreis, op. 15
#Mädchen und Rose
#Beim Tanze
#Überraschung
#Des Jünglings Segen
#Liebesliedchen
#Kapitulation

Gregor auf dem Stein, op. 38
#Herolde ritten von Ort zu Ort
#Im Schloß, da brennen der Kerzen viel
#Der junge König und sein Gemahl
#Ein Klippeneiland liegt im Meer
#Wie bräutlich glänzt das heilige Rom

Der Bergmann, op. 39
#Im Schacht der Adern und der Stufen
#Von meines Hauses engen Wänden
#Unser Herzog hat herrliche Taten vollbracht
#Es steht ein Kelch in der Kapelle
#Als Weibesarm in jungen Jahren

Esther, op. 52
#Wie früh das enge Pförtchen knarre
#Der König auf dem gold'nen Stuhle
#Nun auf dem fremden Boden mehret
#Spielt, Mägdlein, unter euer Weide
#Wie wohnst du in des Reiches Städten

Paria, op. 58
#Gebet des Paria
#Legende
#Dank des Paria

Frauenliebe (Liederkranz von Chamisso) op. 60
#Seit ich ihn gesehen
#Er, der Herrlichste von allen
#Ich kann's nicht fassen, nicht glauben
#Du Ring an meinem Finger
#Helft mir, ihr Schwestern
#Süßer Freund, du blickest
#An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust
#Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan
#Traum der eignen Tage

Waldblumen: Eine Liedergabe von Dilia Helena, op. 89
#Das Glockenspiel (Vorspiel)
#Dein Auge
#Allmacht Gottes
#Des Mädchens Wunsch und Geständnis
#Du Geist der reinsten Güte
#Mit jedem Pulsschlag leb' ich dir

Kaiser Karl V, op. 99
#Das Wiegenfest zu Gent
#Kaiser Karl V. in Wittenberg
#Der Pilgrim vor St. Just
#Die Leiche zu St. Just

Waldblumen: Eine Liedergabe von Dilia Helena, op. 107
#Mondlicht
#Alles in dir
#Frühling

Der letzte Ritter, op. 124
#Max in Augsburg
#Max und Dürer
#Max' Abschied von Augsburg

Agnete, op. 134
#Es schaute in die Wogen die Maid im Abendschein
#Sie stürzt dem Neck zu Füssen
#Sie ist herauf gestiegen aus der kristallnen Gruft
#Und heller und heller quollen die Hymnen, der Orgel Sang

Gesangskreis
#Gesang des Kaisers
#Gesang des Kaisers
#Gesang des Polus
#Gesang des Bischofs nebst Kyrie
#Gesang des Polus
#Wechselgesang des Polus und Bischofs nebst Kyrie
#Gesang der Persis
#Des Polus Taufe

Liederkranz für die Bass-stimme, op. 145
#Meeresleuchten
#Der Feind
#Im Sturme
#Heimlichkeit
#Reiterlied

Songs and Ballads

in Peters Edition albums:
(*Max Friedlaender collection only: **Hans Joachim Moser collection only)

*Edward, op. 1 no 1 (Johann Gottfried Herder)
*Der Wirthin Töchterlein, op. 1 no 2 (Ludwig Uhland) (*I)
*Der Erlkönig, op. 1 no 3 (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
*Herr Oluf, op. 2 no 2 (J G Herder)
*Elvershöh, op. 3 no 2 (**II)
*Golschmieds Töchterlein, op. 8 no 1 (Ludwig Uhland) (*I)
*Graf Eberstein, op. 9 VI no 5 (**II)
*(Serbischer Liederkreis, op. 15 (**II))
*Hochzeitslied, op. 20 no 1
*Der Zauberlehrling, op. 20 no 2 (**II)
*Die Wandelnde Glocke, op. 20 no 3 (**II)
*Die nächtliche Heerschau, op. 23 (Joseph Christian Freiherr von Zedlitz) (**I)
*Des fremden Kindes heil'ger Christ, op. 33 no 3 (**II)
*Der Fischer, op. 43 no 1 (*II)
*Der getreue Eckart, op. 44 no 2 (**II)
*Harald, op. 45 no 1
*Der Woywode, op.49 no 1 (Adam Mickiewicz)(**I)
*Heinrich der Vögler (Johann Nep. Vogl), op. 56 no 1
*Urgrossvaters Gesellschaft, op. 56 no 3 (*II)
*Fredericus Rex, op 61 (G.W.H. Häring) (*I)
*Süsses Begräbnis, op. 62 no 4 (**II)
*Das Erkennen, op. 65 no 2
*Die Glocken zu Speier, op. 67 no 2 (Max von Oër) (**I)
*Der Blumen Rache, op. 68 no 3 (*II)
*Kleiner Haushalt, op 71 (Friedrich Rückert)
*Prinz Eugen, op. 92 (Ferdinand Freiligrath)
*Der Mohrenfürst, op. 97 no 1
*Der Graf von Habsburg, op. 98 (*II)
*Der Pilgrim vor Sankt Just, op 99 no 3 (August von Platen-Hallermünde) (*II)
*Der verfallene Mühle, op. 109
*Des Glockentürmers Töchterlein, op 112a (Fr. Rückert) (*I)
*Der Mönch zu Pisa, op. 114 (*II)
*Der gefangene Admiral, op. 115 (**II)
*Odins Meeresritt, op. 118 (Aloys Schreiber) (**I)
*Trommelständchen, op. 123 no 2 (**II)
*Die Uhr, op. 123 no 3 (Gabriel Seidl) (**I)
*Archibald Douglas (Theodor Fontane), op. 128
*Der Nöck, op. 129 no 2 (nach August Kopisch)
*Tom der Reimer (Theodor Fontane), op 135

References

*1911
*cite web|title=The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe|url=http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/l/loewe.html|accessdate=2008-07-16|last=Ezust|first=Emily (maintainer)

External links

* [http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/l/loewe.html The Lied and Art Song Texts Page]
*IckingArchive|idx=Loewe|name=Carl Gottfried Loewe
*IMSLP|id=Loewe, Carl|cname=Carl Gottfried Loewe
*cite web|language=German|title=Carl-Loewe-Gesellschaft|url=http://www.carl-loewe-gesellschaft.de|accessdate=2008-07-16
* [http://www.klassika.info/Komponisten/Loewe/wv_gattung.html Extensive list of works]

Further reading

*cite book|last=Salmon|first=John|title=The Piano Sonatas of Carl Loewe|date=1996|location=New York|publisher=P. Lang|isbn=0820418900
oclc=26761454