The Court Orchestra at Dresden in the Baroque Era

Craig Carnes

Music History II

17 November 2010

When one takes into consideration all of the great and influential orchestras in history,

certainly names like Solti and the Chicago Symphony, George Szell and the Cleveland

Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini and the New York Philharmonic come to mind. However, there is

one orchestra that may have very well laid the foundation for these famous orchestras by way of

popularity, musicianship, and player virtuosity. The orchestra in question is the court orchestra

in Dresden during the reign of Augustus the Strong, more often referred to as the Dresden

Hofkapelle. The Baroque era saw a time of great innovation in music composition and

musicianship through such composers/performers as Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi,

and Georg Philip Telemann. The Dresden Hofkapelle during this time was unmatched by any

other orchestra in the world. Much of this success can be attributed to the support of this

ensemble by Friedrich Augustus I (Augustus the Strong) and the membership of high caliber

performers and composers, allowing the Hofkapelle to dominate the world of music for more

than fifty years. This paper aims to trace the history of this orchestra from the time of Friedrich

Augustus’ election to the throne of Saxony to the approximately 1763. In addition, notable

players and composers associated with the orchestra will be discussed with regard to their

virtuosity and influence in the ensemble or on other musicians. Finally, through these aspects,

this paper aspires to show how significant this orchestra was to the development of music,

composition, performance, and virtuosity during the Baroque era and how these things still have

salient features in music today.

History of the Dresden Hofkapelle

Dresden lies on the eastern border of Germany and is the capital of the Free State of

Saxony in Germany located on the River Elbe. The Dresden Court Orchestra can be traced back

as early as the late 1100’s under Margrave Dietrich der Bedrängte.1 However, this author is

merely interested in the orchestra’s existence from the time of Friedrich August I to the end of

the Baroque era. August came into power as the Elector of Saxony following the death of his

father in 1694. It is at this point that the Dresden Court Orchestra begins to become one of the

most prestigious ensembles in history. August was a large patron of the arts in every genre, from

architecture to music. He did a lot of travelling to Spain, Portugal and France, but his

experiences in Italy would show him the significance of Italian musicians, composers and Italian

opera. August converted to Catholicism in 1697 and became the King of Poland. Now the

Kapelle had to take on the duel duty of serving Protestant and Catholic worship. The activities

of the ensemble also increased as it now served for functions in Dresden and Warsaw. The

orchestra became famous throughout Europe between 1709 and 1719.2

The orchestra began to grow steadily so that around 1710, it boasted the newest

instruments of the time. Recently following August’s succession of his father, there was a

change to the musicians’ contracts which stated that the members of the Hofkapelle were

responsible for performing solely on a single instrument. This would prove to be one of the

many factors that allowed this group to rise above the rest. Up to this point, musicians were

called upon and expected to perform on a myriad of instruments depending on what the music

called for. One might argue that this makes the musician mediocre at many instruments. With

this new contractual condition, musicians had to focus on a single instrument and consequently 1 Wolfram Steude et al., "Dresden," Grove Music Online (2010), [journal on-line]; available from

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/44245?q=dresden&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit;

2 George J. Buelow, A History of Baroque Music (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2004), 220-221.

become a virtuoso on that instrument. Now, rather than a musician being mediocre at many

instruments, he/she can now be a virtuoso on a single instrument. As a result of having

musicians with a more focused education on a single instrument, the Hofkapelle became an

ensemble of exponentially better musicians. This specialization applied not only to musicians

but also to copyists. Until 1700, the position of copyist was assigned to a couple of people

whose payment was on an ad hoc basis. Eventually, these duties became officially recognized

and were a professional position. The orchestra now had artists who specialized on an

instrument and copyists whose only task was to copy manuscripts of the composers within the

group and copy parts.3 In addition to this, one of August’s other policies was to send the

principal musicians to leading musical centers to study the latest developments in music,

performance, style, and instruments. Not only did the court musicians return with greater

knowledge, but this also helped to advertise the excellence of the Hofkapelle to the rest of

Europe. The Kapelle had at its disposal string instruments – violin, viola, cello, and double bass;

wind instruments – transverse flute, oboe, bassoon, and horn; and continuo instruments – lutes,

pantaleon, harpsichord and organ. When necessary, the court trumpeters and drummers were

included in this ensemble.4

This group of musicians was an international ensemble. It was not one of a sole

nationality. It represented a large cross-section of Europe. Many of the wind players had studied

in the French school, having as many as eight members of the orchestra representing France.

Italy was also well represented with nine members at one time in its history. However, the

Germanic school still claimed the majority of representation in the group according to Ortrun

3 Ortrun Landmann, "The Dresden Hofkapelle During the Lifetime of Johann Sebastian Bach," Early Music 17, no. 1 (Feb. 1989): 20.

4 Wolfram Steude et al., Dresden, in Oxford Music Online. Accessed 29 October 2010. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/44245?q=dresden&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit

Landmann, who takes Germans to include Bohemians, Poles and Austrians.5 Because of such a

cosmopolitan makeup of musicians, the Dresden Kapelle became the center for what the famous

flautist Johann Joachim Quantz would describe as the “mixed or German style”. This included

not just the French, German and Italian styles, but also the galant and folk styles. Quantz arrived

in Dresden in 1716 and had this to say about the Kapelle:

In March of the year 1716 I went to Dresden. Here I soon became aware that the mere playing of notes as set down by the composer was far from being the greatest merit of a musician… It [the orchestra] distinguished itself from many other orchestras by its French evenness of performance, introduced by the concert master at that time, Volumier. Under the next concert master, Herr Pisendel, who introduced a mixed style, it achieved a finesse of performance that I never heard surpassed in all my later travels… I was greatly amazed, and my zeal for continuing musical studies was doubled. I wanted to prepare myself so that in time I too could become a tolerable member of this excellent company.6

The Hofkapelle had important leaders during this high time of music making. Flemish-

born J.B. Volumier led the orchestra beginning in 1709. He was trained in France and elevated

the level of technical accuracy to new heights through his leadership as well as introducing the

concept of uniform bowing to the ensemble. In 1712, the violin virtuoso J.G. Pisendel joined the

orchestra and later succeeded Volumier as leader in 1728, where he stayed until his death in

1755. Pisendel studied briefly with Vivaldi which would later prove to be an important event for

the Hofkapelle. The significance of this event and a more detailed biography of Pisendel will be

discussed later. Johann Adolphe Hasse was engaged as the Hofkapellemeister at the Dresden

court after in 1734 and his wife, Faustina Bordoni, the prima donna.

Shortly after Pisendel’s death in 1755, the Seven Years War erupted in Europe when

Frederick II of Prussia crossed the border of Saxony on August 29, 1756. This war would

continue until 1763, taking its toll on human lives and the economy of the nations involved.

While the Hofkapelle managed to maintain its function during this time, Saxony would

5 Ortrun Landmann, "The Dresden Hofkapelle During the Lifetime of Johann Sebastian Bach," Early Music 17, no. 1 (Feb. 1989): 22.

6 "Dresden in the Time of Zelenka and Hasse," [cited 2010]. Available from http://www.earlymusicworld.com/id16.html.

eventually be defeated. What is known today as the Augustan Age characterized by a high

patronage of the arts would soon diminish as the government’s focus turned toward economic

recovery and reconstruction of Saxony. Following 1763, the Dresden Hofkapelle would never

reach the musical heights that it achieved just a few years prior. However, the legacy left behind

by this group from 1694 to 1763 is unmatched by any other performing group during the same

time period. The Dresden Hofkapelle during the high baroque era will forever be considered one

of the greatest and most influential orchestras in history.

The Hofkapelle was only as good as the players that were in it. Therefore, if the

orchestra had such high acclaim in the musical world, the players and leadership surely had

everything to do with its success. The next section will examine several of the most prominent

musicians of the Dresden Hofkapelle during its most prolific time and their interactions with

other very important figures during the Baroque era.

Jean Baptiste Volumier

Pisendel’s predecessor, Volumier served the court at Dresden quite well for a number of

years. He is believed to be born in Spain around 1670. He was steeped in the education of the

French school and became a violinist in the court of the Elector of Brandenburg in 1692. He was

not only a great violinist, but also a composer; however, none of his music survives as it was

destroyed during the Prussian invasion of Dresden in 1760 during the Seven Years War. He

came into the service of the Dresden court in 1708 and was appointed as Konzertmeister the

following year. While at Dresden, he emphasized the French style of performance. He based the

orchestra on the current French tradition with the strings in six parts, the use of flutes instead of

recorders, oboes rather than cornetts, and bassoons and horns. Perhaps Volumier’s greatest

contribution to the success of this orchestra was not only the use of more modern instruments,

but also his introduction of uniform bowing in the string section which added another level of

quality and musicianship to the ensemble. Volumier was a friend of J.S. Bach and no doubt

Bach’s writing was influenced by the performance of the Hofkapelle as well as the virtuosity of

its players.7 Volumier laid the foundation for what would become one of the most renowned

orchestras in history when he would be succeeded by Johann Georg Pisendel in 1728.

Johann Georg Pisendel

Johann Georg Pisendel was born near Nuremberg, Germany on December 26, 1687. He

was a renowned violinist and composer. If Volumier was the reason for the French influence on

the Hofkapelle, then Pisendel was the reason for the Italian influence on the Germanic orchestra.

As mentioned previously, he led the Dresden Court Orchestra from 1728 until his death in 1755.

At the age of nine, Pisendel because a choirboy at the court chapel of Ansbach where he studied

singing with Francesco Antonio Pistocchi and later violin with Giuseppe Torelli. He joined the

Ansbach Court Orchestra as a violinist when his voice broke and could no longer sing as a

choirboy. In 1709, Pisendel headed to Leipzig where he would meet Johann Sebastian Bach

along the way in Weimar. After his arrival in Leipzig, he met Georg Philipp Telemann and

would become a member of the Collegium musicum founded by Telemann. These two

relationships would prove extremely important later in the history of music. He accepted a

position in the Dresden Court Orchestra in 1712 and never left. The Crown Prince took a tour of

Europe and Pisendel accompanied him. While on this tour, Pisendel visited France, Berlin, and

Italy. In Italy, he met and studied with famous Venetian violinist and composer Antonio

7 Dieter Härtwig. Volumier, Jean Baptiste. In Oxford Music Online. Accessed 10 November 2010. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/29664?q=volumier&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit.

Vivaldi.8 As a result of this relationship, Pisendel came back and made Dresden the major center

outside of Italy for promoting the works of Antonio Vivaldi. This would lead to a large

influence on native German composers of the time most notably Johann Sebastian Bach and

Johann Joachim Quantz. Pisendel was the premiere violinist of the time and he was praised by

Quantz for his interpretation of adagio movements while Hasse enjoyed his solid comprehension

of tempo. Many composers dedicated works to Pisendel including Albinoni, Vivaldi and

Telemann. Pisendel was also an excellent composer, although many of his works no longer

exist. It is thought among scholars that his sonata for solo violin had a significant influence on

J.S. Bach’s compositions for unaccompanied violin.9 This would stand to reason as Pisendel met

Bach in Weimar and possibly performed the Concerto in G major by Telemann with him during

his time there.10

Johann Adolf Hasse

Johann Adolf Hasse’s birth date is unknown, but according to church records he was

baptized on March 25, 1699. Hasse is most notably recognized for his compositions of opera

seria in Italy and Germany. His music exhibits, “…dramatic effects of harmony, orchestration

and vocal line.”11 Hasse’s association with Dresden and the court orchestra there began in July

1731. His wife Faustina Bordoni, a soprano, made her debut in front of the Crown Prince of

Saxony. Hasse conducted sacred works in the court chapel in August of the same year and in

September; his first opera for Dresden was premiered. The opera was Cleofide, with the text

8 H. R. Jung, (Ph.D. diss., University of Jena, 1956).9 Pippa Drummond, Pisendel, Johann Georg. In Oxford Music Online. Accessed 1 November 2010

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/21843?q=johann+georg+pisendel&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit.

10 Christoph Wolff, Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 134. 11 David J. Nichols and Sven Hansell, Hasse. In Oxford Music Online. Accessed 1 November 2010.

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/40232?q=hasse&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit.

adapted from Metastasio’s Alessandro nell’Indie by Boccardi. This premiere was attended by

Johann Sebastian Bach and his eldest son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. Bach admired the work of

Hasse and they were close friends. The day after the premiere, Bach was to give an organ recital

at the Sophienkirche which was attended by the court musicians as well as Hasse. Each man was

familiar with and admired the other’s work. No doubt one had influence on the other. Hasse’s

galant style became very popular in Dresden and elsewhere. Mary Oleskiewicz argues that

Hasse’s vocal music had a strong influence over the music of Johann Joachim Quantz, flautist in

the Dresden orchestra from 1727 to 1741. Hasse became Kapellmeister to the Dresden court in

1730 under the rule of Friedrich August II. He and his wife had a combined annual salary of

6000 thaler. This was an exorbitant amount of money when one considers that the average

annual salary for a pastor in Saxony was about 175 thaler. They would remain in the service of

Dresden over the next thirty years. However, they would not always travel with the orchestra

when it went to Warsaw, which gave them plenty of opportunity to travel on their own and

promote Hasse’s operas across Europe. At the end of February 1764, after writing a requiem for

the death of August II in October 1763 and one for Frederick Christian in December, Hasse and

his wife Faustina left Dresden never to return.12

Significance

12 Robins, Dresden in the Time of Zelenka and Hasse.

So what makes this orchestra stand apart from the myriad other orchestras during the

same time period or from other periods in history? There are several reasons that the Dresden

Hofkapelle was such an important piece of music history. One of the most important factors is

that it had a large amount of support financially thanks to August the Strong. He was a great

patron of all art and especially music thanks to the influence of his father. The time period from

August’s election until 1763 is known as the Augustan Age in Dresden. Because of this

longstanding history of patronage and support, the orchestra was able to prosper and rise to

excellence. Another important point to note relates to the great patronage of August the Strong.

August would often go on trips and bring his musicians along or they would be given a vacation

to go elsewhere and study. The musicians were able to travel to the large musical centers of the

time such as France and Italy and study the latest techniques in composition while learning from

the top composers and performers of the time. The musicians were also exposed to new

instruments and instrumentation of the era as a result of this extensive amount of traveling. Had

it not been for traveling, Johann Georg Pisendel might never have met Antonio Vivaldi and

subsequently had the orchestra perform Vivaldi’s compositions. This in turn may not have led

to the exposure that would make Vivaldi such a prosperous name in music. Pisendel’s

relationship with Telemann also proved to be significant to both the reputation of the Hofkapelle

and Telemann. The musicians in the orchestra were influenced by other musicians on these trips,

but they were also advertising the Dresden Hofkapelle to the rest of Europe and therefore were

able to influence composers, performers, and other orchestras throughout Europe.

This orchestra was an eclectic combination of musicians that had studied extensively in

the French and Italian schools. Therefore, they brought with them many different interpretations

in style which led to a “mixed” or “German” style that had not been heard up to this point. This

occurred significantly through the leadership of Volumier and Pisendel who were not only

excellent leaders, but also great composers and performers.

The new contractual obligation placed upon the ensemble early in August the Strong’s

rule and Volumier’s leadership stipulated that the musicians must specialize on a single

instrument. This was a completely new idea and would prove to be one of the many catalysts

that lifted this orchestra to its great fame. Musicians who specialized on one instrument naturally

became more adept at performing both technically and expressively. They were able to push the

limits of what had been possible prior to this point. The years following this contractual

stipulation would lead to nearly every member of the orchestra becoming a virtuoso on his/her

instrument. This had not been seen before. Musicians were expected to, and indeed did, perform

on multiple instruments in any given court. This orchestra was one of the first to revise that way

of thinking and laid the foundation for what might be considered to be the modern orchestra.

When one looks at the major orchestras, each member is a virtuoso on a specific instrument.

He/she has been studying that singular instrument from a very young age. While he/she might

be proficient on other instruments within the same family, ultimately there is one instrument that

is studied to a high degree. The Dresden Hofkapelle was the first to have musicians of this

mindset.

Because of the players’ virtuosity and their aforementioned friendships with major

composers, new and important works would be developed. For instance, Pisendel’s relationship

with Vivaldi, Telemann and Bach led to several works. It is thought that one of Pisendel’s

unaccompanied violin sonatas prompted and inspired Bach to write his six unaccompanied

pieces for violin. Both Telemann and Vivaldi dedicated violin concerti to Pisendel. These

pieces got performed by the Hofkapelle and thus got the music of these composers out to the

public. In addition to this, pieces written for members of the orchestra or for the orchestra as a

whole increased the number of copies that were available. With multiple copies being made, one

could argue that it increased the chances of these pieces being preserved or at least located much

later in history. Had these pieces only been written on manuscript and never copied for the

orchestra to perform, the likelihood of the piece surviving would drastically decrease.

Additionally, the relationship between performer and composer became a time of give and take

wherein the player’s extreme virtuosity pushed the composers to write more difficult literature

than what had been written before. The composers, then, pushed the players to new heights of

virtuosity by composing pieces of tremendous difficulty. So they went back and forth, each

pushing one another toward newer and greater ideas.

Conclusion

It can be seen that the Dresden Hofkapelle is one of the most significant orchestras in the

history of music. There are many reasons for this. The excellent leadership in the orchestra,

great patronage from August the Strong, the ability to travel, the necessity of specializing on an

instrument, and relationships with leading composers of the day all led to the success of this

ensemble. Many of the aspects of the Dresden Hofkapelle can be seen reflected in the major

orchestras of today. This orchestra laid the foundation and set the example for generations to

come with regard to virtuosity, style and excellence.

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