page_title: Heinrich Albert (composer)
section_title: Works
hierarchical_section_title: Heinrich Albert (composer) / Works
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Ännchen von Tharau (Anke von Tharaw) mit der Melodie von Heinrich Albert
context_page_description: Heinrich Albert was a German composer and poet of the 17th century. He was a member of the Königsberg Poetic Society. As a song composer, he was strongly influenced by Heinrich Schütz.
context_section_description: In Königsberg, Albert composed for both the civic and academic communities. He furnished quite a few academic occasions with music, e.g., the centenary of the University of Königsberg in 1644. Numerous occasional compositions have survived that he penned for weddings and funerals, as well as homages to distinguished persons, and songs about nature, wine, and love. His most famous song probably is Ännchen von Tharau with lyrics by Dach. Today the song is usually sung, though, to a melody by Friedrich Silcher. Some of his sacred songs are still part of German Protestant hymnals, e.g., Gott des Himmels und der Erden and Ich bin ja, Herr, in deiner Macht.
  In 1643 Albert renewed contact with Schütz. He also studied with Johann Stobäus (died 1646), Kapellmeister of cathedral and court. Stobäus was a representative of the Königsberg school of composers, which includes composers from Johannes Eccard to Johann Sebastiani (ca. 1590–1690). Polyphonic five-part-writing was the rule that Albert obeyed as well. Quite a few of Albert's five-part songs, though, actually are expanded versions of solo songs. It was by means of these thorough-bass solo songs that he became popular.
  Albert set his own poetry and that of his friends to music and published them as scores in eight volumes, mainly, as from 1638, labelled Arien oder Melodeyen, totaling 170 songs. He provided these volumes with prefaces, offering detailed instructions for performance (he demanded e.g., that one should not play continuo "like hacking a cabbage". Beside these eight volumes, he published numerous occasional prints, which have so far not been completely registered in terms of bibliography.
  Endowed with a strong sense of his copyright, he tried to protect his compositions against pirated prints by means of privileges which he gained from the duke of Prussia and from the Polish king. The edition of Poetisch-musikalische Lustwäldlein of 1648 is one such pirated print of parts 1 to 6 of his Arien, although in a different order and with many errors.
  His tunes show French influence, subtly taking account of stresses and lengths of syllables and words, as well as Italian influence, expressing affects in terms of music, e.g., passion by means of melisma and coloratura. Albert also absorbed many typical Italian, German, and especially Polish dance rhythms.
  A number of his songs go beyond simple forms: some are structured like cantatas, with instrumental introduction, lyrics, through-composed for solo voice, and with a short coda for choir or instruments.
caption: Anke van Tharaw, with music by Heinrich Albert
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