Johann Adam Hiller (1728 – 1804) was a German
composer, conductor and writer on music, regarded as
the creator of the Singspiel, an early form of German
opera. In many of these operas he collaborated with the
poet Christian Felix Weiße. Furthermore, Hiller was a
teacher who encouraged musical education for women, his
pupils including Elisabeth Mara and Corona Schröter.
He was Kapellmeister of Abel Seyler's theatrical
company, and became the first Kapellmeister of Leipzig
Gewandhaus. (+)
Johann Adam Hiller (1728 – 1804) was a German
composer, conductor and writer on music, regarded as
the creator of the Singspiel, an early form of German
opera. In many of these operas he collaborated with the
poet Christian Felix Weiße. Furthermore, Hiller was a
teacher who encouraged musical education for women, his
pupils including Elisabeth Mara and Corona Schröter.
He was Kapellmeister of Abel Seyler's theatrical
company, and became the first Kapellmeister of Leipzig
Gewandhaus.
By the death of his father in 1734, Hiller was left
dependent to a large extent on the charity of friends.
He came from a musical family, and also learned the
basics of music from a school master in his home town,
Wendisch-Ossig. From 1740 to 1745, he was a student at
the Gymnasium in Görlitz, where his fine soprano voice
earned him free tuition. In 1746 he went to study at
the famous Kreuzschule in Dresden. There he took
keyboard and basso continuo lessons with Gottfried
August Homilius.
In 1751, he enrolled in the University of Leipzig to
study law, supporting himself by giving music lessons,
and also by performing at concerts both on the flute
and as a vocalist. Hiller immersed himself in the rich
musical life of the town, and gradually adopted music
as his sole profession. He took an active role in the
Großes Concert, which was the leading concert
undertaking in Leipzig. During that time he wrote
several symphonies, church cantatas, and arias, as well
as a fragmentary Singspiel entitled Das Orackle. Hiller
also published an essay on the Mimesis of Nature in
Music (Abhandlung über die Nachahmung der Natur in der
Musik) in 1754. That year he got his first break when
he became steward and tutor to the son of Count Brühl
in Dresden. He accompanied the Count to Leipzig in
1758. He remained in that position until 1760 when
health problems (depression) forced him to resign. It
was during his stay there that he conceived the idea of
reviving some subscription concerts, an attempt which
ultimately led to the founding of the Leipzig
Gewandhaus concerts of which he was the first
conductor.
Back in Leipzig, Hiller became the director of the
Großes Concert, a position he held until 1771. That
year he founded a singing school. Four years later,
Hiller founded his own concert society, the
Musikübende Gesellschaft. In his Leipzig school, he
trained young musicians in singing and playing
instruments. Two of his most famous students were
Corona Schröter and Gertrud Elisabeth Mara née
Schmeling, both acclaimed vocalists. He also taught
organist and composer Daniel Gottlob Türk. In 1778
Hiller was appointed music director at the
Paulinerkirche, the church of the University of
Leipzig. During that time he also organized Concerts
spirituels for Lent.
To Hiller has been given the credit of being the
originator of the Singspiel, the beginning of German
comedy opera as distinct from the French and Italian
developments. The most important of his operas were:
Lottchen am Hofe (Lottie at court, 1760), Der Teufel
ist los (The devil is loose, 1768), and Poltis, oder
Das gerettete Troja (Poltis, or Troy rescued, 1782).
The lyrics of all his Singspiele were of considerable
musical value, and were long popular. Among his sacred
compositions are: A Passion Cantata, Funeral Music in
Honor of Hasse, a setting of the one hundredth Psalm;
and a few symphonies.
In the 1780s he acquired new positions with increased
alacrity. In 1781 he became conductor of the Gewandhaus
concerts. During the same year he visited the court of
the Duke of Courland in Mitau, a journey that resulted
in Hiller's appointment as Kapellmeister there four
years later. In addition to his posts at the Gewandhaus
and the Paulinerkirche, in 1783 he also became the
music director of the Neukirche which made him a top
authority on music in Leipzig. However, when taking up
his new job in Mitau in 1785 he resigned all his posts
in Leipzig. Due to the unstable political situation at
the court of Courland he resigned from his position
there after only one year. Since he no longer had any
occupation in Leipzig he had to organize concerts to
earn his living, but fortunately he was able to secure
for himself the post of music director of the city of
Breslau in 1787. He spent two years in Breslau and
returned to Leipzig in 1789 to become cantor at the
Thomaskirche, conducting the Thomanerchor, a position
filled by Johann Sebastian Bach before. Hiller held the
post until 1801 when he resigned due to his age.
In addition, Hiller carried out notable work as an
editor and publisher of other composers' output, and
wrote considerably concerning musical topics. Indeed,
he was one of the most important German musical
scholars and writers of the eighteenth century. He was
the father of the composer Friedrich Adam Hiller (c.
1767–1812), but he was not related to the musician
Ferdinand Hiller.
Hiller's major contribution in this field include the
Wöchentliche Nachrichten, a music journal in which he
published reviews of performances, new music
publications, and essays on various music related
topics. From his articles in this journal it becomes
clear that Hiller was open to new trends in music, and
that he preferred Hasse over J. S. Bach and Gluck.
Writings of Hiller on aesthetic issues include the
Abhandlung über die Nachahmung der Natur in der Musik
(1754) and Über die Musik und deren Wirkungen (1781),
which is a translation from Chabanon’s Observations
sur la musique.
As a historian Hiller published a series of anecdotes
and biographies, the Anecdoten zur Lebensgeschichte
großer Regenten und berühmter Staatsmänner and
Lebensbeschreibungen berühmter Musikgelehrten und
Tonkünstler neuerer Zeit and the Lebensbeschreibungen
berühmter Musikgelehrten und Tonkünstler neuerer
Zeit.
The majority of his writings concern pedagogy. In these
publications Hiller presents himself as a highly
competent teacher who regarded knowledge of music an
essential part of everyone's education.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Adam_Hiller).
Although originally composed for Pipe Organ, I created
this Interpretation of the Trio in G Minor for Woodwind
Trio (Flute, Oboe & Bassoon).
PARTITION