Christoph Graupner (1683-1760) a contextual study of Cantata GWV 1127/19 “O WELT SIEH HIER DEIN LEBEN”

Abstract

Christoph Graupner (1683-1760) was a High Baroque composer who worked primarily in Darmstadt, Germany. He was a student of both Johann Schelle (1648-1701) and Johann Kuhnau (1660-1722) while studying at the University of Leipzig from 1696 to 1707. For the duration of these formative years, Graupner developed a compositional style influenced by the Italian and French masters of the time. At the time of his 1712 Kapellmeister appointment at the court of Darmstadt, Grauper was an established composer and keyboardist. His reputation as an important composer of the time is evident in his appointment as Kapellmeister in 1724 at the Thomaskirche, Leipzig; Graupner, however, opted to remain at Darmstadt when the Darmstadt court increased his salary. During his tenure at Darmstadt, Graupner composed over 1400 cantatas and many instrumental works. One cantata representative of this period is GWV 1127/19 O Welt siehhierdein Leben used as the starting point for placing Graupner’s works in the context of the compositional techniques of the eighteenth century. A detailed textual and musical analysis is presented, together with major compositional influences and performance considerations of the Baroque period.