Lechner, Leonhard (EN)

Lechner Leonhard, *between 1550 and 1555, †9 September 1606 Stuttgart, German composer and editor of Austrian origin, born in the valley of the River Adige (South Tyrol). Until 1570 he was part of the court chapel of the future Wilhelm V of Bavaria in Landshut. By 1575 at the latest, he settled for several years in Nuremberg, where he took up the position of assistant teacher at the school attached to St. Lawrence’s Church. In the spring of 1584, Lechner accepted the position of Kapellmeister at the court of Prince Eitelfriedrich Hohenzollern in Hechingen, but despite favourable financial conditions and the prince’s insistence, he did not remain there long, fleeing to Tübingen in the summer of 1585. This was likely due to differing worldviews, as the musician was as zealous a Protestant as the prince was a supporter of the Counter-Reformation. From 1585 until his death, Lechner worked at the court of Prince Ludwig, and later Prince Friedrich in Stuttgart, initially as a singer, from 1586 as a composer, and from 1594 also as Kapellmeister.

The division of Lechner’s works into sacred and secular, or – within each category – into settings of Latin and German texts, finds little reflection in his compositional technique and in his approach to the text being set. One manifestation of this equal treatment is the inclusion of different types of works in a single publication. In the collections of 1577 and 1582, sacred and secular songs appear side by side, and in the Sacrarum cantionum… almost half of the works are set to secular texts. These are interspersed with sacred works, and their order in the collection – similarly to other collections – is largely determined by the order of the eight modes. Free polyphony is the most common form in all types of compositions. It is paired, on the one hand, with relatively loose imitation, in which usually not all voices participate; on the other hand – especially in settings of German texts – it is combined with chordal structures. Works for eight or more voices are written using the polychoral technique, and the composition published in 1575 is considered one of the earliest of its kind in German music. Almost every collection by Lechner contains, alongside works using the full vocal register, pieces intended for lower or higher voices; in mass cycles and three-part motets, the composer adds variety to the scoring by reducing the number of voices in certain sections. Lechner’s ordinary cycles, belonging to the missa parodia type, are intended for the Catholic liturgy, and in the introit, the chant appears not only in the intonation but also within the pieces themselves. In the Passion (to the text of the Gospel according to St John), the chant is present throughout, moving between all the voices; this is Lechner’s most extensive work, rich in expression and texturally varied, and is considered the pinnacle of the German motet passions. In his songs, the composer set texts that were reflective, festive, hunting-related, about nature, inspired by classical antiquity, or centred on love. These works most often have a strophic structure, sometimes including a refrain. Lechner frequently employed techniques to express and illustrate the text. His skilful use of these methods, combined with the previously mentioned features of his technique, establishes him as an outstanding pupil of Orlando di Lasso – a role he himself claimed.

Literature: M. Fürstenau Kurfürst August von Sachsen, Graf Eitel Friedrich von Hohenzollern-Hechingen und der Kapellmeister Leonhard Lechner, “Mitteilungen des Königlich Sächsischen Vereins für Erforschung und Erhaltung vaterländischer Geschichts- und Kunstdenkmäler” XX, 1870; G. Bossert Die Hofkantorei unter Herzog Ludwig, “Württembergische Vierteljahrshefte für Landesgeschichte” IX, 1900; G. Bossert Die Hofkapelle unter Herzog Friedrich, “Württembergische Vierteljahrshefte für Landesgeschichte” XIX, 1910; M. Schreiber Leonhard Lechner Athesinus 1553-1606. Sein Leben und seine Kirchenmusik, Birkeneck 1932; M. Schreiber Die Kirchenmusik des Kapellmeisters Leonhard Lechner Athesinus, Ratyzbona 1935; K. Ameln Lechners Lebenswerk und seine Beurteilung im Wandel der Zeit, “Hausmusik” XVII, 1953; K. Ameln Leonhard Lechners Bekenntnis, “Musik und Kirche” XXIII, 1953; G. Reichert Martin Crusius und die Musik in Tübingen um 1590, “Archiv für Musikwissenschaft” X, 1953; U. Martin Der Nürnberger Paul Dulner als Dichter geistlicher und weltlicher Lieder Leonhard Lechners, “Archiv für Musikwissenschaft” XI, 1954; K. Ameln Leonhard Lechner, “Musik und Kirche” XXVI, 1956; K. Ameln Leonhard Lechner (um 1553–1606). Leben und Werk eines deutschen Komponisten aus dem Etschtal, Lüdenscheid 1957; U. Martin Historische und stilkritische Studien zu Leonhard Lechners Strophenliedern, dysertacja, Universität Göttingen, 1957; K. Ameln Leonhard Lechner, ein eigenwüchsiger Meister der deutschen Chormusik, “Württembergische Blätter für Kirchenmusik” XXVII, 1960; K. Ameln Leonhard Lechner, Kapellmeister und Komponist, um 1553-1606, “Lebensbilder aus Schwaben und Franken” VII, 1960; H. Weber Die Beziehungen zwischen Musik und Text in den lateinischen Motetten Leonhard Lechners, thesis, Universität Hamburg, 1961; K. Ameln Leonhard Lechner in His Time, in: Cantors at the Crossroads. Essays on Church Music in Honor of Walter E. Buszin, ed. J. Riedel, St. Louis 1967; K. Ameln “Ohn Gott muss ich mich aller Freuden massen.” Eine Villanellenweise von Leonhard Lechner als Gemeindelied, “Jahrbuch für Liturgik und Hymnologie” XIV, 1969; W. Blankenburg Zu den Johannes-Passionen von Ludwig Daser (1578) und Leonhard Lechner (1593), in: Musa–mens–musici: im Gedenken an Walther Vetter, Leipzig 1969; H. Leuchtmann Drei bisher unbekannte Parodiemessen von Morales, Lechner und Lasso. Neufunde in einer Neresheimer Handschrift von 1578, “Musik in Bayern” XX, 1980; I. Capelle Zur Verwendung des Passionstons in den durchkomponierten Passionen des 16. Jahrhunderts, insbesondere in der Johannes-Passion Leonhard Lechners, in: Festschrift Arno Forchert zum 60. Geburtstag, red. G. Allroggen and D. Altenburg, Kassel 1986; F. Körndle Untersuchungen zu Leonhard Lechners Missa secunda, Non fu mai cervo, “Augsburger Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft” III, 1986; M. Klein Neuere Studien über Leonhard Lechner, “Schütz-Jahrbuch” XIV, 1992; F. Krautwurst Zwei Widmungskanons von Leonhard Lechner im Stammbuch des Nürnberger Spitalkantors Theodor Lindner, in: Festschrift Hubert Unverricht zum 65. Geburtstag, ed. K. Schlager, Tutzing 1992; D. Golly-Becker Die Stuttgarter Hofkapelle unter Herzog Ludwig III. (1554–1593), Stuttgart 1999; M. Zeus, Leonhard Lechner. Ein Musiker der Renaissance in seiner Zeit, Berlin 1999; M. Zeus Leonhard Lechner. Ein so gewaltiger Componist und Musicus. Sein Leben, sein Werk, Karlsruhe 2006; B. Schmid, “Omnia denuo multo quam antehac correctius edita.” Zu Leonhard Lechners Redaktion der Selectissimae cantiones am Beispiel seiner Lesart der Vertonung des Wortes “patibulo” in Lassos Motette Vexilla regis LV 225, “Journal of the Alamire Foundation” V, 2013; J.C. Hughes Leonhard Lechner’s Passion (1593). Cultural Contexts, Musical Analysis, and Historical Implications, thesis, University of Iowa, 2014; N. Istasse J. Ravisius Textor (c. 1492–1522) Source of a Leonhard Lechner motet (1581)?, “In Monte Artium” VIII, 2015.