Lauffensteiner, Wolff Jacob
(b Steyr, bap. 28 April 1676; d Munich, 26 March 1754). Austrian lutenist.
He was the son of Wolff Jacob Lauffensteiner, towerkeeper in Steyr, and Anna
Susanna Werfferin. By 1709 he had settled in Graz as a lutenist. From 1712
he was a valet and lutenist in the service of the Bavarian court, and was in
the service of the Bavarian princes during their internment in Graz; he
taught them the lute and other instruments. In 1715 he went with the
prince's retinue to Munich, entering the private service of the prince, Duke
Ferdinand; as valet he accompanied his master in the field and on his
travels. In 1739, on the duke's death, he was granted a pension. For his
services to the electoral House of Bavaria Duke Clemens August, Archbishop
of Cologne, appointed him chamber counsellor (Hofkammerrat).
Lauffensteiner's works include several ensemble concertos in suite or
partita form. His music as a whole is highly idiomatic for the lute, in a
style uniting traditional French forms, textures and ornaments with a
tendency towards italianate cantabile melody over a supporting bass line. In
this his pieces, of which over 100 movements survive, come close to those of
S.L. Weiss, to whom his music is frequently misattributed in manuscript
sources a measure of its high quality in the estimation of his
contemporaries.
WORKS
ensemble
Conc., g, lute, 2 vn, vc, B-Br II 4089 (also for solo lute attrib.
S.L. Weiss, lost; see BrookB); conc., F, lute, vn/fl, b, US-NYp Harrach 11;
2 concs., B, F, P-Wu Rps.mus.37 (lute pt only); conc., F, lute, vn, b, A-Su
M.III.25 (lute pt only)
Sonata, A, 2 lutes (or lute, vn/va da gamba, vc), D-As Tonk.2°, inc.,
ed. H. Neeman (Berlin, 1927)
[12] Symphonie da camera, 1750, lost [mentioned in Munich court
document]
solo lute
Suites: 4 suites, D, b, F, A, A-GÖ (variants of nos.1 and 2, KR L77),
ed. in MAM, xxx (1973); suite, c, CZ-Bm A.13.269, ed. in MAM, xxx (1973);
suite, B, D-Mbs 5362 (inc.), GB-HAdolmetsch II.B.2 (attrib. Weiss), US-NYp
Harrach 14; 2 suites, D, B, GB-HAdolmetsch II.B.2; suite, D, Harrach
family's private collection, Vienna; suite, B, GB-Lspencer, ed. P. Lay and
R. Spencer (Harrow, 1987)
Suite movts: 2 menuets, bourée, D-Mbs 5362; 2 menuets, gay, Mbs 5362;
sarabande, E, Mbs 5362; gigue, courante, menuet, A, GB-HAdolmetsch II.B.2; 3
preludes, d, A-Wgm 7763/92, 2 ed. in MAM, xxx (1973); menuet, d, D-KNu
1.P.56, ed in F. Giesbert, Lautenbuch Livre pour le lut Köln, 18.
Jahrhundert (Mainz, 1965)
doubtful
Bourée, B, lute, CZ-POm (attrib. Weiss, A-Su M.III.25); Sonata à 5, 2
vn, 2 va, basso viola, lost (listed in 1710 catalogue; see Flotzinger)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BrookB
GerberL
E.G. Baron: Historisch-theoretische und practische Untersuchung des
Instruments der Lauten (Nuremberg, 1727/R; Eng. trans., 1976)
H. Federhofer: Die Grazer Stadtpfarrmatrikeln als musikgeschichtliche
Quelle, Zeitschrift des Historischen Vereines für Steiermark, xlv (1954),
15868, esp. 163
R. Flotzinger: Rochus Berhandtzky und Wolff Jacob Lauffensteiner. Zum Leben
und Schaffen zweier Lautenisten in kurbayerischen Diensten, SMw, xxvii
(1966), 20040
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Rastall" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "lutelist Net" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2007 9:55 AM
Subject: [LUTE] Wolfe Jakob Lauffensteiner
> Dear all,
>
> Anyone know where I can find some biographical info on Lauffensteiner?
>
> David Rastall
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
>
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