Krieger, Adam
Krieger, Adam
Krieger, Adam, esteemed German organist and composer; b. Driesen, Neumark, Jan. 7, 1634; d. Dresden, June 30, 1666. He studied organ with Samuel Scheidt in Halle. From 1655 to 1657 he was organist at the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig. He then went to Dresden (1657), where he was made keyboard teacher to the Elector of Saxony’s daughter and in 1658 chamber and court organist. He was one of the most important of the early composers of German lieder, which he called his “Arien,” ranging from the risque to the sublime. For most of them he wrote the words as well as the music.
Works
(50) Arien for 1 to 3 Voices, 2 Violins, Violone, and Basso Continuo (Leipzig, 1657; excerpts ed. by H. Osthoff and N. Schiorring in Det 16. og 17. Arhundredes Verdslige Danske Visesang, Copenhagen, 1950); (50) Neue Arien in 6 Zehen eingeth-eilet for 2, 3, and 5 Voices, 2 Violins, 2 Violas, and Basso Continuo (Dresden, 1667; 2nd ed., aug., 1676, with 10 more songs, and with ritornellos by J. Furchheim; selections in Denkmäler Deutscher Tonkunst, XIX, 1905). He also composed 5 sacred cantatas and 4 funeral songs, as well as an aria.
Bibliography
H. Osthoff, A. K. (Leipzig, 1929).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire