A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Vopelius, Gottfried

by Russel Martineau

VOPELIUS, Gottfried, born at Herwigsdorf, near Zittau, in 1645, became cantor at St, Nicholas, Leipzig, and died at Leipzig in 1715. He wrote some original tunes to hymns previously set to other music, but is chiefly known as a harmonizer of older melodies in four voice-parts. He adopts the more modern form of regular rhythm (generally 3-2), and freely uses the subdominant and major dominant even in minor keys, and the accidental ♯ and ♮. He published in 1682 'Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch,' which contains besides other tunes 100 hymns from Schein's 'Cantional oder Gesangbuch' of 1627.

[ R. M. ]