4 - Telemann, Lüneburg, and Roger Brown

Summary

This chapter considers Telemann’s professional networks in Hamburg’s environs, using Lüneburg as a case study. Among the works acquired by institutions and individuals in Lüneburg were numerous manuscript overture-suites and several published collections by Telemann, including the Musique de table (Hamburg, 1733), Nouveaux quatuors en six suites (Paris, 1738), and the Musikalisches Lob Gottes in der Gemeine des Herrn (Nuremberg, 1744). Regular performances of the music are likely to have occurred in the city, even if these were seldom documented. The composer’s personal contacts with Lüneburg led to a visit there in 1735. Additionally, two of his former students auditioned for the organist position at St. John’s Church, both bearing letters of recommendation from him. Johann Christoph Schmügel was unsuccessful in 1754, but obtained the position in 1758 (when the auditions involved two fugue themes by Telemann); Caspar Daniel Krohne was unsuccessful in his bid to succeed Schmügel in 1766. The chapter also establishes that the theologian Roger Brown, who spent much of his career in Lüneburg as senior pastor of St. Michael’s Church and the city’s school superintendent, had previously copied out works by Telemann while working as a scribe for the Hamburg Opera’s archive.