Ludovico Antonio Roncalli, also known as “Conte Lodovico” (b. 6 March 1654 in Bergamo; d. 25 August 1713 in the same city), came from a long-established noble family of his native city, Bergamo. As the younger son of Conte Giovanni…
Gaspar Sanz is widely regarded as the towering figure of the Spanish Baroque guitar. Through his monumental treatise “Instrucción de música sobre la guitarra española” (1674), he left a lasting mark on the European musical landscape. Although Sanz is almost…
As already outlined in the earlier essay on the Sonata “L’Infidèle,” Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687–1750) is regarded as the most important lute composer of the Baroque era. After periods spent, among other places, in Rome and at the Polish royal…
Johann Georg Weichenberger was born on 11 December 1676 in Graz, the son of a local merchant, and died, according to the post-mortem examination record, on 2 January 1740 in Vienna. As has already appeared several times in this essay…
Ernst Gottlieb Baron: Lutenist, Composer, and Chronicler of His Instrument Ernst Gottlieb Baron (also: Ernst Theofil Baron) was born on 17 February 1696 in Breslau and died on 12 April 1760 in Berlin. His father, Michael Baron, a maker of…
Wolff Jakob Lauffensteiner was baptized on 28 April 1676 in Steyr, Upper Austria, and died on 26 March 1754 in Munich. He came from a musical family: his father, who bore the same name, was a tower keeper in Steyr,…
Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687–1750) is universally regarded as the most important lute composer of the Baroque era and as the last great virtuoso of an instrument whose golden age reached both its zenith and its conclusion with him. Born presumably…
Under the name Valentin Strobel, two generations of German lutenists and composers of the seventeenth century must be distinguished: father and son, both active at various Central and Southwest German court chapels. Valentin Strobel the Elder was born around 1575/80…
Johann Conrad Melchior Pichler (also: Piechler, Pichl, Pickler, Püchler, Pückler, Bichler, Buchler, Büchler) was baptized on 19 February 1695 in Vienna and died, presumably, in 1780. His father, Johann Pichler, was an innkeeper near Rossau; the family moved to the…
Johann Georg Orschler (also Orsler, Orßler, Orschel; b. c. 1698 in Breslau, Principality of Breslau; d. 4 October 1777 in Vienna) was a Silesian composer, organist, and violinist whose career exemplifies the typical trajectory of a Central European professional musician…
Charles Mouton (b. 1617 – d. before 1699; some sources alternatively give the dates c. 1626–1710, reflecting uncertainties in the biographical record) was a French lutenist and composer whose musical background was already established within his family: several musicians appear…
Gottfried Meüsel (or Meusel) was probably born in 1688 in Breslau, the capital of Silesia. This province, now part of Poland, belonged to Austria at the time. It was the birthplace of many outstanding lutenists. For example, Johann Jacob Weiss,…
Philipp Hyacinth, Prince of Lobkowitz (also Lobkowicz; b. 25 February 1680 in Neustadt an der Waldnaab, Bavaria; d. 21 December 1734 in Vienna), belonged to one of the most important Bohemian-Austrian noble houses and was, at the same time, one…
Ilgner is best known for his lute compositions, which have been preserved in several manuscripts. In the Haslemere manuscript GB-HAB2, he is mentioned under this name, which is consistently difficult to read. Is this a corruption or an erroneous transcription…
Wolfgang Adam Anton Hoffer (birth year unknown; d. 1757 in Mainz) ranks among the most colorful, yet also most enigmatic figures of eighteenth-century German lute music. Born in Vienna — that remarkable musical center already described in earlier essays on…
Practically nothing certain is known about the life and biography of Johann Christoph Hobach — neither his year of birth nor of death, neither his place of activity nor any possible court or institutional appointment can be established from the…
In the 18th century, few composers in Europe were as deeply revered and universally celebrated as Johann Adolph Hasse (1699–1783). Respectfully dubbed “il Sassone” (the Saxon) by Italian audiences, the Dresden Oberkapellmeister—alongside his wife, the legendary prima donna Faustina Bordoni,…
The lute music of the 17th century was characterized by an intense cultural exchange between France and the German-speaking lands. While French masters established the style brisé (the broken, improvisational style), German musicians adopted these impulses, fusing them with their…
German lute music of the late Baroque period experienced a brilliant final flourish during the 18th century, closely tied to cultural centers such as Leipzig, Dresden, and various Thuringian courts. While luminaries like Silvius Leopold Weiss dominated the era, lesser-known…