Quick Facts
Biography
Not to be confused with his nephew Nicolaus Bruhns, a German organist and composer.
Friedrich Nicolaus Bruhnsor Brauns(11 February 1637 in Lollfuß – 13 March 1718 in Hamburg) was a German composer and music director in Hamburg.
Bruhns was born in Lollfuß, Schleswig. In 1682 he succeeded Nicolaus Adam Strungk in charge of the Hamburger Ratsmusik, later also taking on the charge of St. Mary's Cathedral. He was in practice succeeded by Johann Mattheson in 1715, but still formally held the positions till his death in Hamburg in 1718.
Händel joined the opera orchestra during Brauns' time.
Both the Johannes-Passion (1702) and Markus-Passion (1705) were for a long time attributed to Reinhard Keiser. The Markus-Passion is also attributed to Gottfried Keiser, Reinhard's father. Bach performed the Markus-Passion in Weimar and in Leipzig. Several pasticcio versions of the Markus-Passion survive, but Bach's copy preserved the original. The earliest attribution to Keiser can be found in Bach's copy,
Works
- Johannes-Passion 1702, formerly attributed to Reinhard Keiser.
- Markus-Passion composed 1705, first performed at the Cathedral in 1707. Formerly attributed to Reinhard Keiser, then to Bruhns, this passion is also attributed to Gottfried Keiser, Reinhard's father.
- 11 solo cantatas
- Daniel R. Melamed Hearing Bach's Passions 2005- Page 80 "... but the religiously independent Cathedral (Dom) also offered sophisticated music for many years. The St. Mark Passion was first presented at the Cathedral under its music director, Friedrich Nicolaus Brauns, in 1707. It is documented by two ..."
- Richard Douglas Jones The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian Bach Volume 1 2007 - Page 246 "Formerly attributed to Keiser, this St Mark Passion is now thought to have been composed by Friedrich Nicolaus Brauns, Director of Music at Hamburg Cathedral. See Daniel R. Melamed and Reginald Sanders, 'Zum Text und Kontext der ..."
- bach-cantatas.com R. Keiser (attrib. F.N. Brauns) Markus Passion List of recordings