Schürmann, Schurmann, Scheuermann, Georg Caspar, *1672 or early 1673 Idensen (near Hanover), †25 February 1751 Wolfenbüttel, German composer. The son of Pastor Statius Caspar Schürmann of Alfelde. He is thought to have been in Hamburg in the early 1690s, where he may have studied and received musical training; from 1693, he performed as an alto singer at the local opera house and in churches. In 1697, together with the Hamburg opera company, he visited the court of Anton Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick, where he soon became Kapellmeister, court opera composer and director of church music, roles he held until his death. In 1701, he was sent by the Duke to Venice to familiarise himself with the Italian operatic style; there he collaborated with C.F. and G.A. Pollarolo, T. Albinoni, F. Gasparini, A. Lotti and others. Upon his return, in 1702, he resumed his duties at the Brunswick court. In 1703 he was sent to Meiningen, where he served as court conductor and composer to Prince Bernhard I of Saxony until 1706, after which he returned permanently to Brunswick, where, in addition to his existing duties, he served as music teacher to the prince and his family. He also collaborated as a composer with the annual opera festival in Naumburg and translated and adapted opera librettos. Following the death of Prince Anton Ulrich the Younger (1714), he worked for his successor, Prince August Wilhelm (1714–27), who built a new opera house and enabled Schürmann to expand the court orchestra. However, later, during the reign of Prince Charles (from 1735), Italian opera came to dominate the court, and Schürmann’s activities, along with the native repertoire, were significantly curtailed.
Schürmann was known primarily for his operatic works; of his more than 30 stage works, only three have survived in their entirety: Salomon, Die getreue Alceste and Ludovicus Pius. Their defining feature is the fusion of the North German operatic style, primarily that of the Hamburg school, which drew on folk and dance music (including the works of R. Keiser and J.S. Kusser), with the Italian style, particularly Venetian operatic practice (A. Steffani). Characteristic of these operas are da capo arias, often employing polyphonic techniques and instrumental interludes, and declamatory recitatives with distinct dramatic accents. In some of Schürmann’s works, alongside the aforementioned elements of the German operatic tradition, there also appears a slow, almost static rhythm, serving to emphasise the harmonic function, which suggests that his music leaned towards the classical style of G.F. Handel’s works. Schürmann’s cantatas vary in form, and they frequently feature recitatives.
Literature: H. Sommer Die Oper Ludwig der Fromme von Georg Caspar Schürmann., “Monatshefte für Musikgeschichte” XIV, 1882; E. Stier Georg Caspar Schürmann, ein Hofkapellmeister des 18. Jahrhunderts, “Die Musik” III, 1903/04; P. Zimmermann Georg Caspar Schürmann, “Braunschweigisches Magazin” XII, 1906; G.F. Schmidt Georg Caspar Schürmann, Munich 1913; E. Rosendahl Geschichte der Hoftheater in Hannover und Braunschweig, Hanover 1927; G.F. Schmidt Neue Beiträge zur Geschichte der Musik und des Theaters am Herzoglichen Hofe zu Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, Munich 1929; G.F. Schmidt Die frühdeutsche Oper und die musikdramatische Kunst Georg Caspar Schürmanns, 2 vols., Regensberg 1933–34; E. Rosendahl Wo und wann Georg Caspar Schürmann geboren wurde, “Archiv für Musikforschung” VII, 1942; H.J. Marx, D. Schröder Die Hamburger Gänsemarkt-Oper. Katalog der Textbücher, Laaber 1995.
Stage:
Singspiele:
Salomon, sacred Singspiel, libretto Duke Anthony Sr. and J.Ch. Knorr von Rosenroth, performed in Brunswick 1701
Daniel, sacred Singspiel, libretto by J.Ch. Knorr von Rosenroth, performed in Brunswick 1701
Leonilde oder Der siegende Beständigkeit, libretto by G. Fiedler, performed in Brunswick 1704 or1705
Das verstöhrte Troja, libretto by J.Ch. Frauendorf(?), performed in Brunswick 1706
Telemaque, libretto by J.Ch. Frauendorf(?), performed in Naumburg 1706, revised version titled Telemachus und Calypso, performed in Brunswick 1717
Porsenna, libretto by F.Ch. Bressand, performed in Brunswick 1718 (also titled Clelia)
Heinrich der Vogler, libretto by J.U. König, part 1, performed in Brunswick 1718, part 2, performed in Brunswick 1721
Ixion, libretto by G. Fiedler, performed in Brunswick 1722
Der von Londinen zugleich geliebte und ungeliebte Pharasmanes, König von Iberien, libretto by J.F.A. von Uffenbach, performed in Brunswick 1729
operas:
Die Plejades oder Das Siebengestirn, libretto by F.Ch. Bressand, performed in Brunswick 1716
Atis oder Der stumme Verliebte, libretto by L. von Bostel, performed in Brunswick 1717
Tiridate ovvero L’amor tirannico, libretto by D. Lalli, performed in Brunswick 1718
Die getreue Alceste, libretto by J.U. König after Ph. Quinaulta, performed in Brunswick 1719
Das eroberte Jerusalem oder Armida und Rinaldo, libretto by J.S. Müller after G.C. Corradi, performed in Brunswick 1722
Rudolphus Habspurgicus, libretto by J.S. Müller, performed in Brunswick 1723
Ludovicus Pius, with additional arias by C.H. Graun and ballet music from operas by A. Destouches and A. Campra, libretto by Ch.E. Simonetti, performed in Brunswick 1726
Hannibal in Capua, libretto by N. Beregan, performed in Brunswick 1726
Magnus Torquatus, libretto by J.S. Müller, performed in Brunswick 1730
***
Endimione, pastorale, libretto by F. de Lemene, performed in Salzthal 1700
Der erfreuten Ocker-Schäffer angestelltes Fest, festspiel, performed in Brunswick 1708
pasticcios (from his own operas and those of other composers):
Giasone overo Il conquisto del vello d’oro, libretto by F. Parisetti, performed in Brunswick 1707
Die schöne Psyche after Die wunderschöne Psyche by R. Keiser, libretto by Ch.H. Postel, performed in Brunswick 1708
Issé oder Die vergnügende Liebe, pastorale, probably after A. Destouches, libretto by A. Houdar de La Motte, performed in Wolfenbüttel 1710
Procris und Cephalus, libretto by F.Ch. Bressand, with music by R. Keiser and A. Lotti, among others, performed in Brunswick 1714
Heinrich der Löwe, libretto by O. Mauro, German translation by G. Fiedler, with music mainly by A. Steffani, performed in Brunswick 1716
L’amor insanguinato oder Holofernes, libretto by J. Beccau, performed in Brunswick 1716
Orlando furioso, libretto by G. Braccioli after L. Ariosto, performed in Brunswick 1722
Orpheus, with music by Schürmann and R. Keiser, libretto by J.Ch. Bressand, performed in Brunswick 1722
2 prologues – to the dramma per musica Regnero, libretto by P. Pariati, performed in Brunswick 1715 and to the dramma per musica Claudio ed Agrippina, performed in Brunswick 1717
in addition, Schürmann is credited with other stage works, including ballets
***
Musicalisches Neu-Jahrs-Opfer, with C.H. Graun(?), serenata, performed in Brunswick 1728
cantatas – 10 preserved, to religious texts, many lost
occasional works of doubtful authorship
suites for instrumental ensemble, lost
Editions:
fragments of the opera Ludovicus Pius, ed. H. Sommer, «Publikationen Älterer Praktischer und Theoretischer Musikwerke der Gesellschaft für Musikforschung» XVII, Leipzig 1890
Mechtild’s aria from the opera Heinrich der Vogler, ed. R. Eitner, “Monatshefte für Musikgeschichte” XVI, 1884
Pflüget ein Neues, cantata ed. R. Eitner, “Monatshefte für Musikgeschichte” XVII, 1885
Altdeutsche Opernsuite z Die getreue Alceste, ed. G.F. Schmidt, Wolfenbüttel 1933
6 opera arias, ed. N. Delius, Kassel 1978
3 Pfingstkantaten, in: Musik am Meininger Hofe, ed. U. Feld and U. Leisinger, «Denkmäler Mitteldeutscher Barockmusik» series II, vol. 1, Leipzig 2003
