Johann Ludwig Krebs

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Johann Ludwig Krebs (baptized 12 October 1713 1 January 1780) was a German Baroque musician and
composer for the pipe organ, harpsichord, other instruments and orchestras. His output also included chamber
music, choral works and concertos.

Contents
1 Life
2 Works
3 Bibliography
4 References
5 External links

Life
Krebs was born in 1713 in Buttelstedt to Johann Tobias Krebs, an organist. At least three of his brothers were
musically talented. Krebs was sent to Leipzig to study organ, lute, and the violin.[1]

Krebs studied with Johann Sebastian Bach on the organ. Bach (who had also instructed Krebs's father) held
Krebs in high standing. From a technical standpoint, Krebs was unrivaled next to Bach in his organ proficiency.
However, Krebs found it difficult to obtain a patron or a cathedral post. His Baroque style was being supplanted
by the newer galant music style and the classical music era.

Krebs took a small post in Zwickau,[1] and in 1755 (five years after the death of Bach, which is normally
referred to as the end of the Baroque period) he was appointed court organist of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg under
Prince Friedrich.[1] Krebs had seven children and struggled to feed his family. Despite never holding a court
composer post, and never being commissioned for a work, Krebs was able to compose a significant collection
of works, though few were published until the 1900s.

Works
Krebs's counterpoint is considered by many to be comparable to Bach's, but it was old-fashioned and
excessively complex for the galant era, which espoused clarity and simplicity.

Krebs's Fantasia in F minor for oboe and organ is one of his best-known works, as is the Eight Short Preludes
and Fugues that are sometimes attributed to him as well as to his father and J.S. Bach. He is also remembered
for two large-scale concertos for lute and orchestra. Krebs's three sons became well-known performers in their
day, and one of them became a noted Lieder composer.

Krebs organ works include the following:[2]

"Prelude in F"
7 Preludes and Fugues 0:00
2 Toccatas and Fugues
3 Preludes Performed in 2010 on Link organ in
4 Preludes (small) Feuchtwangen, Germany (1:22)
2 Fantasias and Fugues (one fugue is a fragment)
3 Fantasias Problems playing this file? See media help.
11 Fugues
17 Trios
35 Chorale Settings (with 5 Variants and 6 other Chorale Settings of dubious authenticity)
 13 Chorales with 3 Settings of each "Clavierbung" (Nuremberg, 17521753)
5 Fantasias for wind instrument (trumpet, flute, oboe) and organ; 1 Variant
15 Chorale Settings for wind instrument and organ; 1 Fragment

Bibliography
Clavier Ubung Bestehend in verschiedenen vorspielen und vernderungen einiger Kirchen Gesaenge
(Nrnberg, J.U. Haffner, ca. 1744)
Clavier-Ubung bestehet in einer [...] Suite [...] Zweyter Theil (Nrnberg, J.U. Haffner, ca. 1744)
Clavier-Ubung bestehend in sechs Sonatinen IIIter Theil (Nrnberg, J.U. Haffner, ca. 1744)

References
1. "Bach Cantatas Biography of Krebs" (http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Krebs-Johann-Ludwig.htm).
Retrieved 2007-10-14.
2. Krebs, Johann Ludwig. Johann Ludwig Krebs: Samtliche Orgelwerke (Gerhard Weinberger, ed.,
Breitkopf & Hrtel, 1985).

External links
Free scores by Johann Ludwig Krebs at the International Music Score Library Project

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This page was last edited on 6 June 2017, at 02:24.

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