Friedrich Zelle (Composer)

Born: January 24, 1845 - Berlin, Germany
Died: September 9, 1927 - Berlin, Germany

Friedrich Zelle was a German composer. He attneded the Gymnasium of the Monastrey in Berlin, at which his father (d 1852) had been active as Professor and which was led by the Zelle family with Fr. Bellermann. He received training in piano playing by Th. Kullak, in composition by Flodoard Geyer and H. Bellermann. Since 1863 he studied in Berlin and Heidelberg philosophy and theology and attained a doctorate in 1870 in Halle (Saale) with a work in philosophy (De discrimine inter Aristotelicam et Kantianam logices notionem intercedente).

Since 1875 Friedrich Zelle worked as a teacher at the Berliner Humboldt-Gymnasium, and also led its choir. In 1893 he was apppointed as the 10^th diredctor of the Berliner Realschule. At the same time he continued to give lectures on on music at the Humboldt Akadmeie. The music critic and writer P. Bekker was Zelle's son-in-law.

In his work on the history of the Evangelist Church hymns Friedrich Zelle examined the early hymn-books and the changes, which the melodies experienced through more than three hundred years. He wanted to give forgotten melodies new life and to re-sstablisgh the old purity of well-known melodies. He also studied the history of the early German opera and conducted a thorough study of sources. He edited Reinhard Keiser’s opera Jodelet, which remained for decades the only full-known German Baroque opera emained had originally wanted the only complete well-known German baroque opera Hans Leo Hassler's Lustgarten hatte he originally edited as Volksausg. für Gsg.-Ver. publication, before the before the final stitch was incorporated into the PGfM. With the Passions of Sebastiani and Theile he opened for Mf. likewise two historically important works

Works

Werke (»Progr« = Wiss. Beil. zum Jahresber.). A. Schriften (nur mus.): Theorie der Musik, Bln. 1880, Mrose; Beitr. zur Geschichte der نltesten deutschen Oper, I J. W. Franck, Progr. Humboldt-Gymnasium, Bln. 1889 (m. Beisp. aus Cara Mustapha), II J. Theile u. N. A. Strungk, ebda., 1891 (m. Beisp. aus Theiles Passion, 4 Lieder v. D. Strungk, 1 Arie aus Esther v. N. A. Strungk, 3 Arien aus Semiramide v. J. W. Franck), III J. Ph Fِrtsch, Progr. 4. stنdt. Realschule zu Berlin, 1893 (m. Beisp. Kant. »Weh denen, die auf Erden wohnen« u. Ausschn. aus Kant. »Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ«); Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, I Zur Entwicklung des ev. Chordlgsg., Progr. 10. Realschule zu Berlin, 1895, II Die ältesten Bearb. des Liedes, ebda., 1896, III Die späteren Bearb., ebda., 1897; Geschichte des Chorals »Komm heiliger Geist, Herre Gott«, ebda., 1898; Die Singweisen der نltesten ev. Lieder, I Die Melodien der Erfurter Enchiridien 1524, ebda., 1899, II Die Melodien aus dem Jahre 1525, ebda., 1900, III Die Melodien aus den Jahren 1526-1545, ebda., 1910.
B. Ausgaben: H. L Haßler, Lustgarten Neuer Teutscher Gesنng (Nürnberg 1601) in PGfM 15, 1887; Suite v. Tanzstcken aus Opern v. R. Keiser, Lpz. 1890, B & H (auch bearb. f. Kl., f. V. u. Kl. u.f. StrQu.); J. W. Franck, Kant. f. 1 A.-St., bearb. f. A. u. Kl., ebda. 1890; R. Keiser, Der lنcherliche Printz Jodelet (1726) in PGfM 18, 1892; Das نlteste luth. Haus-GsgB. 1524 (Fنrbefa-Enchiridion), Gِttingen 1903, V & R; L. Osiander, 50 geistl. Lieder u Ps. (Nürnberg 1586) in Das erste ev. Choralbuch, Progr. 10. Realschule zu Berlin, 1903; J. Sebastiani u. J. Theile, Passionsmusiken in DDT 17, 1904.

Source: MGG1 (Bärenriter, 1986; Author: Martin Ruhnke), English translation by Aryeh Oron
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (December 2005); Thomas Braatz (May 2006)

Use of Chorale Melodies in his works

Title

Chorale Melody

Year

Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Cantata

Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ

Links to other Sites

Bibliography

R. Eitner: Rezensionen in MfM (21, 1889, 123; 22, 1890, 84; 23, 1891, 128; 25, 1893, 120; 27, 1895, 79; 28, 1896, 72; 29, 1897, 102; 30, 1898, 78; 31, 1899, 94; 32, 1900, 130)
Martin Ruhnke: [Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Zelle, Friedrich, P. 1 pp.Digitale Bibliothek Band 60: Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, P. 82861 (cf MGG Bd. 14, P. 1203 pp.) (c) Bärenreiter-Verlag 1986]