Thomaskantors (Cantor (church)s of St. Thomas Church, Leipzig) edit
| Number before or after Johann Sebastian Bach | Name | Birth-Death dates (with locales) | Years Thomaskantor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -21 | Johann Urban (Johannes Steffani de Orba) | ?–? | 1435–1439; 1430 (Kanonikus (Canon (priest))); 1436–1466 (Johanneskantor (Cantor (church) of St. John Church, Leipzig)) | Cantorate interrupted in 1443–1444 by Cantorate of monastary brother Thomas Ranstete; First Thomaskantor? |
| -20 | Thomas Ranstete | ?–? | 1443–1444 | -- |
| -19 | Thomas Klotzsch | ?–? | ca. 1470 | also Klotsch |
| -18 | Ludwig Götze | Werdau, ca. 1450–Leipzig, 1506 | 1471–1506? | was registered with the Bakkalauteatsexamen (Baccalaureate Exam); was officially designated as Thomaskantor in 1475 |
| -17 | Johannes Scharnagel | Wunsiedel, ca. 1480–Leipzig?, 1513 | ca.1505–1513 | also Johann; left Leipzig in 1511 after bloody fight with Chorister at St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig; First testified Thomasschulkantor (Cantor of Thomasschule zu Leipzig); Registered 1500, 1507 earned Magister (degree) |
| -16 | Georg Rhau | Eisfeld, ca. 1488–Wittenberg, 6 August 1548 | 1518/1519–1520 | also Rhaw, Rauw; Made last important hymnal published during Martin Luther's lifetime (the Newe deudsche geistliche Gesenge für die gemeinen Schulen. of 1544); composed and led the Thomanerchor in the opening Mass of the Leipzig Debate; First Evangelical (Lutheran) Thomaskantor |
| -15 | Johannes Galliculus | Dresden, ca. 1490–Leipzig, ca. 1550 | 1520–1525 | also Alectorius, Hähnel, Hennel; Important German in the field of Music Theory |
| -14 | Valerian Hüffeler | ?–? | 1526–1530 | -- |
| -13 | Johannes Hermann | Zittau, 1515–Freiberg, 22 April 1593 | 1531–1536 | also Herman; also called Italus; credited for the New Year's Day hymn "Jesu, nun sei gepreiset"; in 1540 became a professional Jurist |
| -12 | Wolfgang Jünger | Sayda, ca. 1517–Großschirma, 4 March 1564 | 1536–1539 | Thomaskantor when church (and all of Leipzig) became Evangelical in 1539 (after Luther's sermon there)? |
| -11 | Johannes Bruckner | ?–? | 1539?–1541 | also Johann Bruckner; Little is known about him; Thomaskantor when church (and all of Leipzig) became Evangelical in 1539 (after Luther's sermon there)? |
| -10 | Ulrich Lange | Vorhendres, ?–Leipzig?, 1549 | 1541–1549 | "The fact is that during his tenure, after the Reformation, the position of the Kantor changed, in particular the monastery functions stopped, and ere constituted by instruction in the school and exercise of the choristers in the singing for the now Protestant service, even third-party liabilities... It should be noted that from now on the main obligation of the Kantor, as in former times, remained the pupils of the institute, especially with scientific instruction, a tradition which continued up to Johann Adam Hiller's Kantorat." |
| -9 | Wolfgang Figulus | Naumburg or Lübben, 1520? or ca. 1525–Meißen, 1589 or ca. 1591 or ca. 1588 | 1549–1551 | Born Wolfgang Töpfer |
| -8 | Melchior Heger | Brüx, ?–?, ? | 1553–1564 | also Melchior Heyer |
| -- | Simon Wiedemar | Oschatz, ?–?, ? | 1559–1564 | added as Adjunct in June 1559 to Melchior Heger; Was requested to leave by Heger in 1562, but remained in post until 1564 |
| -7 | Valentin Otto | Markkleeberg, 1529–Leipzig, April 1594 | 1564–1594 | Longest tenure as Thomaskantor; The most important Organist at the Thomaskirche during his tenure was Elias Nikolaus Ammerbach |
| -6 | Sethus Calvisius | Gorsleben, 21 February 1556–Leipzig, 24 November 1615 | 1594–1615 | Born Seth Kalwitz, also known as Setho Calvisio; German Music Theorist, Astronomer, Musician, Chronologer, and Teacher |
| -5 | Johann Hermann Schein | Grünhain-Beierfeld, 20 January 1586–Leipzig, 19 November 1630 | 1616–1630 | also a Poet; Most famous work was Fontana d'Israel, Israelis Brünnlein of 1623, and composed the hymn "Mach's mit mir, Gott, nach deiner Güt'" |
| -4 | Tobias Michael | Dresden, 13 June 1592–Leipzig, 13 March or 26 June 1657 | 1631–1657 | Son of the Franco-Flemish Composer, Musician, and fourth Kapellmeister of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden since Johann Walter, Rogier Michael (whose assistant and eventual successor was Heinrich Schütz and amongst whose pupils was Johann Hermann Schein) |
| -3 | Sebastian Knüpfer | Aš, Bohemian Vogtland, baptized 6 or 7 September 1633–Leipzig, 10 October 1676 | 1657–1676 | Also Knüpffer; A Composer and Church musician (Germany); amongst his friends was the Thomasorganist Jakob Weckmann, son of the famous Hamburg Organist Matthias Weckmann |
| -2 | Johann Schelle | Geising, Erzgebirge, baptized 6 September 1648–Leipzig, 10 March 1701 | 1677–1701 | Son of Cantor and Rector Jonas Schelle; Among his students were five that were to have an impact (to some degree) on music history during the early 18th century and to influence two of early 18th-century music's greatest exponents: Johann Theodor Roemhildt (who later studied under Johann Jacob Bach, brother of Johann Sebastian Bach and dedicatee of the Capriccio on the departure of his Beloved Brother BWV 992), Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow (teacher of George Frideric Handel), Reinhard Keiser (Composer and sometime Kapellmeister of the Hamburg Opera; formerly thought to be the composer of the original work that formed the basis for Johann Sebastian Bach's St Mark Passion pastiche (BWV deest, BC D 5 and 5a and b)), Johann Christoph Graupner (Kapellmeister in Darmstadt and one of Bach's competitors to the post of Thomaskantor), and Johann David Heinichen (Composer, Lawyer, Music Theorist, and twelfth Kapellmeister to the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden after Johann Walter) |
| -1 | Johann Kuhnau | Geising, Erzgebirge, baptized 6 April 1660–Leipzig, 5 June 1722 | 1701–1722 | also a Lawyer; among his works is the Cantata Uns ist ein Kind geboren, BWV 142 and the Motet Tristis est anima mea, long associated with Johann Sebastian Bach (the former attributed to Bach, the latter arranged by Bach (as the Motet Der Gerechte kömmt um BWV deest, BC C 8, and also included in BWV deest, BC D 10/3); often abetted in his duties as Directoris Chori musici of Leipzig by the young University student Georg Philipp Telemann |
| 0 | Johann Sebastian Bach | Eisenach, 21 March 1685–Leipzig, 28 July 1750 | 30 May 1723–28 July 1750 | -- |
| 1 | Johann Gottlob Harrer | Görlitz, 1703–Karlovy Vary, 9 July 1755 | 1750–1755 | Also a Composer |
| 2 | Johann Friedrich Doles | Steinbach-Hallenberg, 23 April 1715–Leipzig, 8 February 1797 | 1756–1789 | also a Composer; In 1789, led a performance of Bach's Motet Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225 that led to the famous quote by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: "Now there's some music we could learn from!" |
| 3 | Johann Adam Hiller | Osiek Łużycki bei Görlitz, 25 December 1728–Leipzig, 16 June 1804 | 1789–1801 | also first Kapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig |
| 4 | August Eberhard Müller | Northeim, 13 December 1767–Weimar, 3 December 1817 | 1801–1810 | also Eberhart, Eberhardt; also a Composer and Organist; pupil of Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, son of Johann Sebastian Bach; believed to have written the conclusion as it now exists for the Fantasia No. 3 (Mozart) in D minor, KV 397 of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
| 5 | Johann Gottfried Schicht | Bogatynia, 29 September 1753–Leipzig, 16 February 1823 | 1810–1823 | also a Composer; was Kapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig 1785–1810 |
| 6 | Christian Theodor Weinlig | Dresden, 25 July 1780–Leipzig, 7 March 1842 | 1823–1842 | Also Cantor of the Kreuzkirche Dresden; Among his pupils were Clara Schumann and Richard Wagner |
| 7 | Moritz Hauptmann | Dresden, 13 October 1792–Leipzig, 3 January 1868 | 1842–1868 | Also Professor of Music Theory at the Leipzig Conservatory startin after its founding by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy; Among his pupils were the violinists and composers Ferdinand David and Joseph Joachim, the world-famous pianist, conductor, music critic, composer, and one-time Principal Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Hans von Bülow (one-time son-in-law to Franz Liszt, disciple of Richard Wagner, and friend of Johannes Brahms and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky who coined the term the "3 Bs" [for Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms), and the composer Arthur Sullivan (yes, that Arthur Sullivan, partner of W. S. Gilbert in all those operettas); Along with Otto Jahn, Carl Ferdinand Becker (organist), and Robert Schumann, founded the Bach Gesellschaft (Old Bach Society) in 1850 and published three volumes (Bands 1, 2, and 8) of the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe or Bach-Gesammtausgabe (Old Bach Complete Edition) |
| 8 | Ernst Friedrich Eduard Richter | Großschönau, Saxony (Lausitz); , 24 October 1808–Leipzig, 9 April 1879 | 1868–1879 | Also Professor of Harmony and Composition of the Leipzig Conservatory; also Organist at the Peterskirche Leipzig, the Neukirche Leipzig, and St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig |
| 9 | Wilhelm Rust | Dessau, 15 August 1822–Leipzig, 2 May 1892 | 1880–1892 | Also Docent of Theory, Composition, and Organ at the Leipzig Conservatory; Among a collection of his personal items was found in 2008 at auction a manuscript of Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält BWV 1128; Edited volumes (Bände) 5.1, 5.2, 7, 9, 11.1, 11.2, 12.1, 12.2, 13.1, 13.2, 13.3, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.1, 20.2, 1.1, 21.2, 21.3, 22, 23, 25.1, 25.2, and 28 of the Bach-Gesammtausgabe--In Band 13.3, added 6 movements and changed some aspects of the libretto to Laß, Fürstin, laß noch einen Strahl, BWV 198 |
| 10 | Gustav Ernst Schreck | Zeulenroda-Triebes, 8 September 1849–Leipzig, 22 January 1918 | 1893–1918 | Also a Composer and Music educator; taught Composition and Music Theory at the Leipzig Conservatory |
| 11 | Karl Straube | Berlin, 6 January (Epiphany (holiday)) 1873–Leipzig, 27 April 1950 | 1918–1940 | Also Organist of the Thomaskirche Leipzig; established and taught at the Religious Music Institute at the Leipzig Conservatory; When became Thomaskantor, handed over the position of Thomasorganist to his eventual successor as Kantor, Günther Ramin; Along with Günther Ramin adn the Kantor of the Kreuzkirche Dresden Rudolf Mauersberger (brother of eventual Thomaskantor Erhard Mauersberger), was teacher of the famous Organist, Harpsichordit, Cantor, Conductor, and influential Bach interpreter Karl Richter; led the Thomanerchor in the first recordings of the complete Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach |
| 12 | Günther Ramin | Karlsruhe, 15 October 1898–Leipzig, 27 February 1956 | 1940–1956 | Also Organist, Composer, and Choral Conductor; Among his pupils was Karl Richter (who was his Thomasorganist); established the Thomanerchor as a touring organization |
| 13 | Kurt Thomas (composer) | Tönning, 25 May 1904–Bad Oeynhausen, 31 March 1973 | 1956–1960 | Also Choral Conductor, Composer, and Docent for Music Theory (at the Leipzig Conservatory |
| 14 | Erhard Mauersberger | Mauersberg, 29 December 1903–Leipzig, 11 december 1982 | 1961–1972 | Also Organist, Composer, Music educator, and Choral Conductor; Brother of Rudolf Mauersberger, Kantor of the Kreuzkirche Dresden; like Rudolf, was a Thomaner; Student of Karl Straube at the Leipzig Conservatory (Organ); also Kantor of the Georgenkirche Eisenach (where Bach was baptized) |
| 15 | Hans-Joachim Rotzsch | Leipzig, 25 April 1929– | 1972–1991 | Also Organist, Tenor, and Choral Conductor; Studied Church Music and Organ at the Leipzig Conservatory (his teacher for the latter was Günther Ramin); also a guest instructor in Protestant Church Music at the Mozarteum Salzburg |
| 16 | Georg Christoph Biller | Nebra, 20 September 1955– | 1992– | Also Baritone, Composer, Professor of Choral Conducting at the Leipzig Conservatory, and Choral Conductor; Also taught Choral Conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold; Was a Thomaner under both Erhard Mauersberger and Hans-Joachim Rotzsch |
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