# Johann Gottfried Walther (1684 - 1748)



## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Johann Gottfried Walther was born in Erfurt in 1684 and is almost contemporary with his more famous cousin JS Bach.

His first organ lessons were in Erfurt with Johann Bernhard Bach, and he quickly became an able child singer. When he was 18 he landed his first organ post, at Erfurt's Thomaskirche. After a spell at university, he began touring Germany on a regular basis, and in his travels he met the important theorist Andreas Werckmeiste.

He was appointed organist at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Weimar, in 1707. He also served as music teacher to Prince Johann Ernst in Weimar, to whom he would dedicate his 1708 treatise, _Praecepta der musicalischen Composition_. This remained in manuscript until 1955. It is a useful music-theory compendium and the second part is a valuable survey of German Baroque composition procedures.

JS Bach came to the ducal court in 1708 and the cousins struck up a close friendship which benefited both. As an organ composer, Walther became famous for his organ transcriptions of orchestral concertos by contemporary Italian and German masters. He made 14 transcriptions of concertos by Albinoni, Gentili, Taglietti, Giuseppe Torelli, Vivaldi and Telemann. These works were the models for Bach to write his famous transcriptions of concertos by Vivaldi and others.

In 1721, Walther gained leadership of the ducal orchestra. As a composer he wrote extensively in the field of sacred choral and keyboard works, much of which has probably been lost. That he was an organist of distinction is obvious from contemporary reports, but he grew disillusioned as he was continually passed over for important posts, including the position he thought was his by right, as successor to J.S.Bach at the Royal Court in Weimar.

Walther's compositions explore stylistic elements from across Europe. His concertos possess Italian characteristics, his free works are distinctly south German, and he is placed next to Bach as a composer of the chorale variation. Walther was an omnivorous collector of information on music and theory, which led to the publication in 1732 of his _Musicalisches Lexicon_, Germany's first major music dictionary, incorporating entries on both biography and terminology.

Sources: wiki, allmusic


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748): Concerto del Signor Mancia, appropriato all´ Organo





Organ music which really lifts the spirits.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Partita on Jesu Meine Freude


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

Of his organ music some of the concert arrangements and partitas have been recorded often, but the most complete survey of his organ music is here - and very cheep too (grab it in time!):

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/complete-organ-music/hnum/8352867

The used organ is serviceable even if not ideal, but the interpretations are competent and sympathetic.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748) Praeludium und Fuge in A - Walter Gatti, organ






Rainer Noll spielt Johann Gottfried Walther (1684 - 1748): Concerto h-moll live (2008, Königsfeld)


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