Johann Kuhnau
German composer, organist and harpsichordist
Johann Kuhnau (German: [ˈkuːnaʊ]; 6 April 1660 – 5 June 1722) was a German polymath, known primarily as a composer today. He was also active as a novelist, translator, lawyer, and music theorist, and was able to combine these activities with his duties in his official post as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, which he occupied for 21 years. Much of his music, including operas, masses, and other large-scale vocal works, is lost. His reputation today rests on his Biblical Sonatas, a set of programmatic keyboard sonatas published in 1700, in which each sonata depicted in detail a particular story from the Bible. After his death, Kuhnau was succeeded as Thomaskantor by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Read more about this composer on Wikipedia.
Works
- Christ lag in Todesbanden
- Ihr Himmel jubilirt von oben
- Kantate "Gott, sei mir gnädig nach deiner Güte"
- Kantate, BWV 142 "Uns ist ein Kind geboren"
- Magnificat in C major
- Musicalische Vorstellung einiger biblischer Historien
- Suonata settima
- Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan
- Weicht ihr Sorgen aus dem Hertzen
- Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern
Box sets & recent recordings
- Kuhnau: Complete Organ Music — Johann Kuhnau, Stefano Molardi (2015) box set · 84 tracks Spotify
- Kuhnau: Keyboard Works — Johann Kuhnau, John Butt (1992) box set · 66 tracks Spotify
- Bach, Caldara & Kuhnau: Magnificat — Hermann Max, Das Kleine Konzert, Rheinische Kantorei, Antonio Caldara, Johann Kuhnau, Johann Sebastian Bach (2022) box set · 50 tracks Spotify
- Complete Sacred Works Vol. 8 — Johann Kuhnau, Camerata Lipsiensis, Gregor Meyer, Opella Musica (2023) box set · 44 tracks Spotify
- Kuhnau: Complete Sacred Works, Vol. 7 — Johann Kuhnau, Opella Musica, Camerata Lipsiensis, Gregor Meyer (2022) box set · 36 tracks Spotify
- Johann Kuhnau: Sacred Music — Johann Kuhnau, The King's Consort, Robert King (1998) box set · 36 tracks Spotify
- Kuhnau: Complete Sacred Works, Vol. 1 — Johann Kuhnau, Opella Musica, Camerata Lipsiensis, Gregor Meyer (2015) box set · 36 tracks Spotify
- Kuhnau: Complete Sacred Works, Vol. 3 — Johann Kuhnau, Opella Musica, Camerata Lipsiensis, Gregor Meyer (2018) box set · 32 tracks Spotify
Box sets & recent releases via Spotify — surfaced automatically, not editorial picks.