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Daniel Croner

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Daniel Croner (1656-1740) was a Transylvanian composer and organist of Saxon descent. He is best known for his four collections of organ music, which are among the earliest surviving organ compositions by a composer from this region.[1]

Early life

Daniel Croner was born in Kronstadt (now Braşov). [2] to master tailor Daniel Croner and his wife Katharina at their home in Purzengasse. His musical talent was recognized early and encouraged.[3]

Eduation

From 1671-1678 he attended Kronstadt's Honterus-Gymnasium during which time he began to make copies of music for his own use resulting in what he called his “Exercionale” (1675). He then moved to Weissenburg (now Alba Iulia) to perfect his knowledge of Hungarian and moved to Breslau in 1680 to study at the Maria Magdalena High School. There in January 1681 he began writing his musical manuscript “Tabulatura Fugarum, Praeludiorum, Canzonum, Tocatarum et Phantasiarum”.[3]

Later that year Croner moved to the university in Leipzig. It seems he was unprepared for the cost of his studies there and he transferred to Wittenberg to study theology. Here he got to know the local cantor Johann Ulich (1634-1712). When Corner left Wittenberg in 1683 Ulrich dedicated a printed “Musical Ode” to him. [3]

Adult life

In January 1684 Daniel Croner returned to Kronstadt and by the spring of 1685 he'd copied almost a hundred preludes and fugues into his “Exercitationale” of which around twenty are his own works.[3]

In 1687 Croner married and in 1691 he was appointed 'preacher' at Kronstadt's St. John's Church. In 1693 he was appointed 'preacher' at the city parish church, known as the Schwarze Kirche" (Black Church).[3]

In 1701, the community of nearby Heldsdorf (now Hălchiu) in Burzenland (now Țara Bârsei) elected him as their pastor. From 1704 he resumed adding to his “Exercitationale”. In 1709 he oversaw the purchase of new organ for the Heldsdorf church. From 1735-1738 he was the Area Dean of the Burzenland churches. He died on April 25, 1740 in Heldsdorf and was buried in the church there.[3]

Works

Croner's magnum opus is his 'Exercitationale', nowadays referred to today as his Tablaturae', comprising four manuscript volumes of organ music - fugues, preludes, toccatas, fantasias and chorales - all written in tablature. They have been kept in the library of the Black Church.[1]

  • 1: dated Kronstadt, 1675
  • 2: dated Breslau, 1671
  • 3: dated Wittenberg, 1682
  • 4: dated Kronstadt, 1685

In his 'Exercitationale' Croner not only displays his grasp of traditional styles - not least by including alongside his own compositions the works of older contemporaries such as Johann Froberger, Johann Erasmus Kindermann, Johann Christian Kittel, Bernhard Meyer and Johann Ulich - but also his own lively innovatory spirit. In these volumes Croner marks the transition from an earlier polyphonic style to the new styles of the High Baroque. Of particular note was his organisation of works inro complete cycles of keys (such as we find later in J.S. Bach’s Das wohltemperirte Klavier). Other notable characteristics include: - rhythmic variations of choral themes; - the increased use of keys rather than church modes; - and the frequent introduction of the pedal. Croner was a pioneer in the inclusion of instructions for fingering methods on keyboard instruments and the finger extension principle for the execution of preludes and capriccios.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Cosma, Viorel. 'Croner, Daniel.' Grove Music Online. 2001. Oxford University Press. Online resource, accessed 1 Apr. 2024
  2. ^ Andreas Porfetye. 'Vorwort/Preface' in Old Transsylvanian Organ Music: selected pieces from the organ tablature by Daniel Croner (Leipzig: Breitkpof & Hartel, 1972). EB 8339 ISMN: 979-0-004-17647-4. Online resource, accessed 1 April 2024
  3. ^ a b c d e f 'Daniel Croner' in Kulturstiftung der deutschen Vertriebenen für Wissenschaft und Forschung. Online resource, accessed 1 April 2024.
  • Public domain scores by Daniel Corner in the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) / Petrucci Music Library. Online resource, accessed 1 April 2024.
  • Daniel Croner (1656 – 1740) Tabulaturae (Eds. András Pernye, Katalin Szilvia Fittler, Dániel Benkő) Series: Tastenmusik aus dem 16. und 17. Jahrhundert. (Budapest: EMB, 2004 ) Cat. Z7831. ISMN: 9790080087312
  • Various performances of items from Croner's Tabulaturae can be found on YouTube'
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