Abstract: This article provides a concise overview of the current state of knowledge concerning the little-known cantatas of Johann Ludwig Krebs and an evaluation of these works in comparison with the much more familiar cantatas of his teacher, Johann Sebastian Bach. Although his cantatas are relatively few, Krebs occasionally composed vocal music of this type throughout his career, while he was serving as organist in Zwickau (1737–1744), Zeitz (1744–1756), and Altenburg (1756–1780). Beyond the towns where he worked, his cantatas were performed in many places throughout Central and North Germany. Performances are documented from 1740 until Krebs’s death in 1780, and posthumously during the next several decades, until at least 1810. Krebs was deeply immersed in the Bach cantatas, as a singer and later as prefect, from the time he arrived in Leipzig as a twelve-year-old (July 1726) until he left for Zwickau nearly eleven years later. Krebs cut his teeth on Bach’s music, and his cantatas largely follow patterns familiar from those of his teacher. The cantatas of Bach’s favorite student, Krebs, are of obvious historical interest. The music has many lovely features, even if one has to overlook the sometimes excessive diatonicism. Krebs can be said to have written very competent music in the style prevalent in Central Germany in the generation after his famous teacher. For this reason, even if Krebs is likely to remain permanently in the shadow of Bach, it seems clear that his vocal music is well worth recovering and knowing.

Category	Quartile
艺术学	4
艺术学, 音乐	4

Recovering the Cantatas of Johann Ludwig Krebs

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