Johann Krieger - Works

Works

Krieger's keyboard works comprise the most important part of his surviving oeuvre. The six suites of Sechs musicalische Partien (Nuremberg, 1697) are worthy additions to Central German repertoire of the time and belong to the same tradition as Pachelbel's and Fischer's suites. They employ the standard dance order of allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue, with additional movements (minuets, gavottes, etc.) added to fill space (as the composer specifies in the preface). Unusually, some of these additional dances are not in the keys of their corresponding suites. The collection also includes, as the first piece, a Fantasia, which belongs to the type cultivated by Pachelbel. Here, an eight-measure theme returns periodically as a refrain, in a polyphonic texture.

Anmuthige Clavier-Übung (Nuremberg, 1698) was the second collection of keyboard music Krieger published, and it is a much more important work. It comprises 25 pieces: nine preludes, five ricercares, seven fugues, two toccatas, a fantasy, and a chaconne. Ricercares and fugues showcase Krieger's contrapuntal skills which his contemporaries praised. For example, five of the fugues form a sequence in which four subjects are first treated independently (fugues nos. 11–14), and then appear together in a quadruple fugue (fugue no. 15). Almost all of the ricercars employ inversion, either as an inversion fugue, from the very beginning (nos. 2, 8, and 17), or in a separate section (nos. 3 and 7); ricercar no. 7 has a countersubject that is inverted in the course of the piece. Non-imitative pieces in the collection also have a fair share of interesting characteristics. The Chaconne in G minor marks the earliest known instance of an eight-bar ostinato pattern, as opposed to the more traditional four-bar pattern. It contains 29 variations, some of which form pairs, and the first setting of the theme returns and is used as a refrain three times. Toccata mit dem Pedal aus C, the last piece in Anmuthige Clavier-Übung, was described by Willi Apel as "perhaps the only fully-developed toccata written in central Germany before Bach." The toccata starts with a pedal solo, which is followed by a chordal section with recitative breaks, a song-like section in 3/4 time, an interlude, and a fugue whose subject is heard in the pedal twice, requiring alternating feet. Sectional organ works with virtuosic use of pedal were common for north German composers, but no central or south German composers attempted such pieces before Krieger. North German influence is also apparent in the other toccata of the collection, Toccata in D minor. Krieger's preludes are short pieces, free developments of a harmonic or a rhythmic idea, employing fast passagework, short fugatos, etc.

Anmuthige Clavier-Übung was the last work Krieger published during his lifetime. It was admired by Handel, who took a copy with him to England and later presented said copy to his friend, one Bernard Granville. The latter added the following note to it:

The printed book is by one of the celebrated Organ players of Germany; Mr. Handel in his youth formed himself a good deal on his plan, and said that Krieger was one of the best writers of his time for the Organ.

A few pieces not included in the printed collections survive in manuscript copies. These include, most importantly, fugues that apparently form a counterpart to ricercar no. 2 from Anmuthige Clavier-Übung, building on variations of the same subject, and two sets of chorale variations: Herr Christ der einig Gottes Sohn and In dich hab ich gehoffet, Herr. Both contain three sections; the third section of the third set is particularly interesting, as it treats the chorale in 6/8 time and a free rhythm. Other pieces in manuscript include two fantasias, one in the manner of Pachelbel and one with fugal design, a Fuga with two obbligato countersubjects, a passacaglia (16 variations), a Durezza, a Battaglia, and other works.

The non-keyboard part of Krieger's oeuvre comprises vocal works only. Neue musicalische Ergetzligkeit (Frankfurt and Leipzig, 1684) is a large collection of songs for one to four voices. It is divided into three parts. The first contains 30 strophic sacred songs, simple pieces in the Nuremberg tradition. The second contains 34 strophic secular songs, set somewhat more freely and in a more ornamented manner. The third part contains arias from five of Krieger's Singspiels: these pieces are the only surviving fragments of those large stage works. Out of Krieger's 235 known sacred vocal works only 33 survive, mostly cantatas. Distinguishing features of the cantatas include fugal movements with advanced technique, but for the most part the music builds on styles and techniques quite common at the time.