A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Forkel, Johann

by Franz Gehring

FORKEL, Johann Nicolaus, a meritorious though over-rated writer on the history and theory of music, son of a shoemaker, born Feb. 22, 1749, at Meeder near Coburg; educated himself by the study of Mattheson's 'Vollkommener Capellmeister.' Having a fine voice he was appointed chorister at Lüneburg in 1762, and 4 years later 'Chorpräfect' at Schwerin. In 1769 he entered the university of Göttingen to study law, but soon occupied himself exclusively with music, and became organist of the university church. In 1778 he was appointed director of music to the University and graduated as doctor of philosophy in 1780. On the death of Emmanuel Bach he hoped to have been appointed his successor at Hamburg, but Schwenke obtained the post, and Forkel remained at Göttingen till his death, March 17, 1818. He is best known as a musical critic and historian. His first work, 'Ueber die Theorie der Musik, etc.' (Cramer, Gottingen, 1774), a pamphlet urging the foundation of lectures on music at Göttingen, was followed by many others, especially 'Musikalisch-kritische Bibliothek,' 3 vols. (Gotha, 1774), containing violent attacks on Gluck's 'Iphigenie in Aulide'; the 'Mus. Almanach für Deutschland' for 1782, 3, 4, and 9, containing particulars (not always trustworthy) as to novelties in music; his 'Allgemeine Geschichte der Musik,' 2 vols. (Leipzig 1788 and 1801), founded on Hawkins, Burney, and Marpurg, now superseded, but interesting as a literary^[1] curiosity; 'Geschichte der Italienischen Oper,' 2 vols. (Leipzig 1789), a translation of Arteaga's book; and ' Allgemeine Literatur der Musik' (Leipzig 1792), his most important work. This book, which shows the amount of his knowledge and reading, is the foundation of Becker's 'Systematisch-chronologische Darstellung der musikalischen Literatur.' Forkel was the first to attempt a biography of Bach (Ueber J. S. B.'s Leben, Kunst, und Kunstwerke. Leipzig, 1802), translated into English under the title 'Life of J. S. Bach, with a critical review of his compositions' (London 1820). As he knew little of Bach's great sacred vocal works, he treats him mainly from the point of view of the organ and clavier, but the book will always remain as the foundation of all subsequent Lives of the great musician.

The royal library at Berlin contains an interesting specimen of Forkel's labours. This is a large volume of church music of the 16th century, scored by himself, and, though printed, unique. It was intended to form the 1st volume of a series of examples illustrating the history of music, and was undertaken at the instance of Sonnleithner of Vienna. The plates were engraved in Leipzig, and the proofs were already in Forkel's hands, when the French took the city in 1806, and seized everything in the shape of metal to be converted into bullets. His plates having been thus destroyed Forkel had the proof-sheet bound, and this is the copy now at Berlin, masses it contains are taken from 'Missæ tredecim ... Norinbergæ ... arte Hieronymi Graphei, 1539,' and 'Liber quindecim Missarum ... Norimbergas apud Joh. Petreium, 1539.'

[ F. G. ]

1. After Forkel's death, Schwickert, the publisher, offered the materials for completing the third volume to Fétis and Choron, but they declined the task.