Heinrich Albert (Composer, Poet)

Born: July 8, 1604 (or June 28, 2004) - Lobenstein, Voigtland, Saxony, Germany
Died: October 6, 1651 - Königsberg, German (now Kaliningrad, Russia)

Heinrich Albert was a German composer, organist and poet. He began studying music in 1622 with his cousin, the composer and musician Heinrich Schütz, in Dresden. He then went to study law in Leipzig; however, he continued to compose arias. In 1627 he set out for Warsaw with some Dutch diplomats, but they were taken prisoner by the Swedes, when he went to Köningsberg, and he was held for a year. When he returned to Köningsberg in 1628, he was involved in "the science of fortification". By 1630 he had returned to being a musician in Königsberg, was appointed organist at the Köningsberg Old Church in 1631, and in 1643 he renewed contact with Heinrich Schütz. He also was a member of the Köningsberg school of poets.

Heinrich Albert's most important works are probably the 170 songs published in his Arien in eight volumes. They include detailed dedications which give important information on daily life in Königsberg. He set both his own poetry and that of Simon Dach. His songs were very popular, and at least 25 of them became chorale tunes. The prefaces to his works are also valuable sources for information on the playing of basso continuo and performance practice of the songs included. One comment he made was that one should not play continuo "like hacking a cabbage".

Source: Mostly Wikipedia Website (from John H. Baron. "Heinrich Albert", ", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed November 19, 2006))
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (March 2008)

Chorale Melodies used in Bach’s Vocal Works

Gott des Himmels und der Erden (1642; Zahn 3614a)

Ich bin ja, Herr, in deiner Macht (1648; Zahn 5869(

Links to other Sites

Heinrich Albert - Composer (Wikipedia)
Heinrich Albert | Classical music composer
Heinrich Albert (Britannica Online Encyclopedia)

Bibliography