Johann Wolfgang Franck (1644-c.1710)
- Te Deum in C-Dur
Performers: Ansbаcher Jugеndkantorei; Ansbаcher Kammerorchester; Rainer Goеdе (conductor)
Further info: Te Deum–C major
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German composer. Since his father, who died in 1645, had held an
important administrative post at the court of the Margrave of
Brandenburg-Ansbach, and his mother’s family were natives of Ansbach, it
is likely that he had a superior education at a Latin school there. He
served there as court musician from 1665 until 1679. He composed three
operas for the Ansbach court: 'Die unvergleichliche Andromeda' (1675),
'Der verliebte Föbus' (1678), and 'Die drei Tochier Cecrops' (1679). On
January 17, 1679, in a fit of jealousy, he allegedly killed the court
musician 'Ulbrecht', and was forced to flee. He found refuge in Hamburg
with his wife, Anna Susanna Wilbel (whom he had married in 1666), and
gained a prominent position at the Hamburg Opera. Between 1679 and 1686
he wrote and produced 17 operas, the most important of which was
'Diokletian' (1682). His private life continued to be stormy; he
deserted his wife and their 10 children, and went to London, where he
remained from 1690 to about 1702. In London he organized, with Robert
King, a series of Concerts of Vocal and Instrumental Music. The exact
date and place of his death are unknown, but a report in Johannes
Moller’s 'Cimbria litterata' (Copenhagen, 1744) makes the intriguing
suggestion that he may have been murdered in Spain. As a composer, he
published 'Geistliche Lieder' (Hamburg, 1681, 1685, 1687, 1700),
'Remedium melancholiae' (London, 1690), arias, and sacred music.
