D-B Am.B 340
D-B Am.B 340 is a manuscript held in the Staatsbibliothek, Berlin. It was written by an unknown scribe, possibly Wilhelm Karges, in 1664.
The manuscript contains works by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Heinrich Scheidemann, Johann Jakob Froberger, Sebastian Anton Scherer, François Roberday, and Wilhelm Karges, in addition to some anonymous pieces.
Taken as a whole, AmB 340 reflects that stage in the development of seventeenth-century North German organ music when the focus of attention was shifting away from the Bull-Sweelinck idioms which had been so dominant in the first half of the century, towards new styles coming north from Italy via South Germany.[1]
Scribe
Geoffrey Webber stated that Wilhelm Karges is the most likely candidate to be the scribe of this manuscript.
The collection survives in the library of Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia (1723-1787) and Karges was Organist of the Berlin Court from 1646 to 1699. Of the three works in the manuscript which bear the initials 'W. K.', one is the only piece to carry a date–13 July 1664–and another is the only instance in the manuscript where two names occur in connection with a single piece. Here 'W. K.' replaced the first section of Froberger's Fantasia sopra Sol La Re with a short parody of Froberger's original–a process very similar to the techniques employed in the Scherer adaptations. Moreover, the style of the dated piece is entirely compatible with the stylistic alterations made to the Froberger, Roberday and Scherer works.[2]
Analysis
Many pieces in this manuscript which have a known source (where they were copied from) have serious changes when compared with the original. These have been interpreted as examples of how these foreign pieces could be modified by North-German organists to better suit their tastes (while at the same time showing more interest in this different style of music).
Some examples of how pieces would be modified include changing or completely re-writing the final cadence in such a way that the Italian style of trill-like ornaments on the final chord are replaced with more polyphonic and harmonic cadences, re-writing runs in fast notes (like 16th or 32nd notes) in more regular, less trill-like, rhythms, removing some dissonances and chromaticism, and playing some notes in the pedal (including removing fast notes when they are written to be played in the pedal).
Additionally, many intonatio by Scherer that were included were made longer by adding more opening and concluding flourishes. In this way, the piece conforms more to the Präludium of the North German Organ School.
Contents
Several pieces in this manuscript are marked with initials which have been connected with composers. (A few pieces include more fully written-out names)
In addition to pieces with initials, several unattributed pieces in this manuscript have been found to originate from two books published in the 1660s:
- François Roberday - Fugues et Caprices (Paris, 1660)
- Sebastian Anton Scherer - Operum musicorum secundum (Ulm, 1664)
With these atttributions in mind, two pieces in the manuscript remain unaccounted for.
Links
D-B Am.B 340 Online facsimile: digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de accessed 21 November, 2023.
References
Dirksen, Pieter. Heinrich Scheidemann's Keyboard Music: Transmission, Style and Chronology. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007. 56.
Schierning, Lydia. Die Überlieferung der deutschen Orgel- und Klaviermusik aus der esten Hälfte des 17. Jahrhunderts: Eine quellenkundliche Studie. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1961.
Webber, Geoffrey. "New Evidence Concerning the Transmission of Styles in Seventeenth-Century German Organ Music: MS Berlin, Amalien-Bibliothek 340". The Organ Yearbook 17, 1986. p.81-88.
20 Freie Orgelwerke der Norddeutschen Schule. Meister der Norddeutschen Orgelschule 29. Mainz: Schott, 2013. p.81.
