Johann Gottfried Müthel (1728-1788)
- Concerto (fagott, Es-Dur) di Joh: Gottfr: Müthel
Performers: Jennіfer Harrіs (fagott); Katrіn Lazar (fagott); Hofkapelle Hannover; Anne Röhrіg (leitung)
Engraving: Anoniem - Plattegrond van Riga (1735)
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German composer. He received his earliest musical instruction from his
father, Christian Caspar Müthel (1696-1764), organist at the
Nikolaikirche in Mölln, and was later taught by Johann Paul Kunzen
(1696-1757) in Lübeck. At the age of 19 he became a chamber musician and
organist at the court of Mecklenburg-Schwerin under Duke Christian
Ludwig II. A year’s leave of absence allowed Müthel to go to Leipzig in
the spring of 1750 to visit ‘the famous Capellmeister and Music-Director
Bach … in order to perfect himself in his profession’, as an
accompanying letter from his employer stated. Bach was already ill at
this time, and it is not known what kind of teaching he was able to give
Müthel. After Bach’s death on 28 July 1750, Müthel left for a study
tour, visiting J.C. Altnickol in Naumburg, Hasse in Dresden, C.P.E. Bach
in Potsdam and Telemann in Hamburg; he was also active as a copyist
during this period. In 1753, through the good offices of his brother, he
obtained the post of Kapellmeister to the Russian privy councillor O.H.
von Vietinghoff in Riga; he was appointed organist of the principal
church of Riga in 1767. His friends and admirers in Riga included J.G.
Herder. Müthel, who was also highly regarded as a keyboard virtuoso,
never seems to have left Riga again; almost nothing is known about his
later life. Müthel's output is small, and both musically and technically
his keyboard works are the most demanding part of it. However, fewer of
the works in the Pretlack Collection, seem to be by Müthel than was
originally thought. For instance, C.F. Schale is named elsewhere as
composer of the two harpsichord concertos preserved there (see the
Kritischer Bericht to the first volume of Wilhelm’s edition of organ
works, 1982). The extract from a letter by Müthel which occurs in the
German translation (1773/R) of Burney’s The Present State of Music in
Germany, the Netherlands, and United Provinces should therefore be taken
seriously, although it sounds like a typical effusion of the ars
poetica of the Sturm und Drang period: ‘I have devised many a piece when
in good humour and a cheerful mood, but only in outline, and the pieces
await a happy disposition of my mind for further work to be done, for I
do not care to work when I am not disposed to it. And that true
cheerfulness of mind I require to work visits me only rarely’.
Particularly in the inner movements of his compositions, Müthel’s
characteristic originality watchword gave rise to rhythmically striking
motifs and phrases, abrupt changes of dynamics, and other expressive
means, all in the service of individual self-expression. His style has
something in common with the styles of C.P.E. Bach and other
experimentally minded composers of his generation. Burney wrote of him:
‘The style of this composer more resembles that of Emanuel Bach, than
any other. But the passages are entirely his own, and reflect as much
honour upon his head as his hand’.
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