Adam Falckenhagen (1697-1754) - Concerto à Liuto obligato, No.4 Op.IV
Performers: Michael Dücker (lute); Scala Köln
Further info: Adam Falckenhagen (1697-1754) - Concerto a 5 in g
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German lutenist. He was the son of Johann Christian Falckenhagen, a
schoolmaster. When he was ten he went to live for eight years with his
uncle Johann Gottlob Erlmann, a pastor in Knauthain near Leipzig. There
he underwent training ‘in literis et musicis’, particularly the
harpsichord and, later, the lute. He then perfected his lute playing
with Johann Jacob Graf in Merseburg, where in 1715 he is mentioned as a
footman and musician in the service of the young Count Carl Heinrich von
Dieskau. In the winter term of 1719 he entered Leipzig University; a
year later he went to Weissenfels, where he remained for seven years as a
lute teacher. From about 1724 he was also employed as a chamber
musician and lutenist at the court of Duke Christian, where his presence
is documented for 1726, together with that of his wife, the singer
Johanna Aemilia. During this time he undertook various tours and enjoyed
several months’ instruction from the famous lutenist Silvius Leopold
Weiss in Dresden. After two years in Jena, he was in the service of Duke
Ernst August of Saxony-Weimar from May 1729 to 15 August 1732. By 1734
he was employed at the Bayreuth court. In 1736 Margrave Friedrich
appointed him ‘Virtuosissimo on the Lute and Chamber Musician Second to
the Kapellmeister Johann Pfeiffer’. About 1746 he referred to himself as
‘Cammer-Secretarius Registrator’ of Brandenburg-Culmbach. Falckenhagen
was one of the last important lute composers. Although some of his works
are rooted in the Baroque tradition like those of his teacher, Weiss,
they show a progressive tendency towards the galant style. His
keyboard-influenced lute writing is freely contrapuntal and usually
limited to two voices. His output ranges from modest pieces suitable for
amateurs to others (e.g. the Sonata op.1 no.5 and the concertos) of
much greater difficulty, exploiting virtuoso techniques. His Preludio
nel quale sono contenuti tutti i tuoni musicali, lasting over 20 minutes
in performance, contains labelled sections in the 24 major and minor
keys. There may be a more direct connection with J.S. Bach in the strong
possibility that the tablature version of the G minor Suite bwv995 was
arranged by Falckenhagen himself. The ornament signs and other technical
signs are the same as those used exclusively by Falckenhagen in his
printed works and found in a manuscript table of signs associated with
his Bayreuth period.
