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Tier 3 · vertical & regional
Johann David Heinichen
Person · male · Germany · Teuchern · born 1683 · died 1729 · recording since 1993
German composer and music theorist
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Also known as 海尼亨
Timeline
10 events▣ Album 7◦ Birth 1† Death 1★ Debut release 1
1680s
1720s
1990s
· Debut release
Debut release: Concerti grandi
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
2000s
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography534 words · 3 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1365031275
Biography
Johann David Heinichen (17 April 1683 – 16 July 1729) was a German Baroque composer and music theorist who brought the musical genius of Venice to the court of Augustus II the Strong in Dresden. After he died, Heinichen's music attracted little attention for many years. As a music theorist, he is credited as one of the inventors of the circle of fifths.
Biography
Johann David Heinichen was born in 1683 in the small village of Krössuln (currently part of the town of Teuchern, in Saxony-Anhalt) near Weissenfels. His father, Michael Heinichen, had studied music at the celebrated Thomasschule Leipzig associated with the Thomaskirche, served as cantor in Pegau and was pastor of the village church in Krössuln. Johann David also attended the Thomasschule Leipzig. There he studied music with Johann Schelle and later received organ and harpsichord lessons with Johann Kuhnau. The future composer Christoph Graupner was also a student of Kuhnau at the time.
Heinichen enrolled in 1702 to study law at the University of Leipzig and in 1705–1706 qualified as a lawyer (in the early 18th century law was a favored field of study for composers; Kuhnau, Graupner and Georg Philipp Telemann were also lawyers). Heinichen practiced law in Weissenfels until 1709.
However, Heinichen maintained his interest in music and was concurrently composing operas. In 1710, he published the first edition of his major treatise on the thoroughbass. He went to Italy and spent seven formative years there, mostly in Venice, achieving great success with two operas, Mario and Le passioni per troppo amore (1713). Mario was staged again in Hamburg in 1716 with the German title, Calpurnia, oder die romische Grossmut.
In 1712, he taught music to Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, who took him as composer. The same prince would appoint Johann Sebastian Bach Kapellmeister at the end of 1717. In 1716, Heinichen met in Venice Prince Frederick Augustus, son of King Augustus II the Strong, and thanks to him was appointed the Royal-Polish and Electoral-Saxon Kapellmeister in Dresden. His pupils included Johann Georg Pisendel. In 1721, Heinichen married in Weissenfels; the birth of his only child is recorded as January 1723. In his final years, Heinichen's health suffered greatly; on the afternoon of 16 July 1729, he was buried in the Johannes cemetery after succumbing to tuberculosis.
His music began to be better known after 1992 when Musica Antiqua Köln under Reinhard Goebel recorded a selection of the Dresden Concerti (Seibel 204, 208, 211, 213–215, 217, 226, 231–235, 240), followed by a recording of Heinichen's Lamentationes and Passionsmusik (1996). His sole opera for Dresden, Flavio Crispo (1720), was never performed and was only recorded in 2018. Two "passion oratorios", L'aride tempie ignude (1724?) and Come? S'imbruna il cieli Occhi piangete (1728) (classified in the catalogue as the cantatas Seibel 29 and 30), were recorded in 2021 by the Kölner Akademie.
Circle of fifths
Heinichen is credited with independently inventing the circle of fifths (German: Musicalischer Circul) in his Neu erfundene und gründliche Anweisung (1711), though he was not the earliest inventor. The circle of fifths had previously been invented
by Nikolay Diletsky in the late 1670s (of which Heinichen was unaware). Heinichen credited Athanasius Kircher as a predecessor, specifically his Musurgia universalis (1650).
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 24 | 85.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 7 | 80.4th |
| Studio albums | 7 | 87.5th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 10 | 86.7th |
| Recording span (years) | -264 | 2.2th |
| Genres | 3 | 80.4th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (7 release groups · 7 studio albums)
Albums · 7
1993 · studio album
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Tracklist · 25 tracks · 1:02:24
1Concerto in F major, S 234: I. Vivace2:322Concerto in F major, S 234: II. Adagio0:443Concerto in F major, S 234: III. Un poco allegro2:234Concerto in F major, S 234: IV. Allegro2:525Concerto in G major, S 213: I. Allegro2:396Concerto in G major, S 213: II. Larghetto3:057Concerto in G major, S 213: III. Allegro3:178Concerto in G major, S 213: IV. Entrée1:369Concerto in G major, S 213: V. Loure. Cantabile1:4310Concerto in G major, S 213: VI. Tempo di menuet – Air italienne3:1111Concerto in F major, S 235: I. Vivace4:1512Concerto in F major, S 235: II. Andante2:2513Concerto in F major, S 235: III. Presto3:3414Concerto in F major, S 235: IV. Alla breve3:3115Concerto in F major, S 235: V. Allegro2:5316Concerto in F major, S 233: I. Allegro3:0917Concerto in F major, S 233: II. Andante più tosto un poco allegro2:1218Concerto in F major, S 233: III. Presto3:1519Sonata in A major, S 208: I. Allegro1:4020Sonata in A major, S 208: II. Adagio e staccato0:4621Sonata in A major, S 208: III. Allegro0:5022Concert Movement in C minor, S 240: Vivace2:5723Concerto in F major, S 231: I. Vivace2:1924Concerto in F major, S 231: II. Arioso2:5025Concerto in F major, S 231: III. Allegro1:461993 · studio album
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Tracklist · 50 tracks · 2:16:47
Disc 11Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 234: I. Vivace2:322Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 234: II. Adagio0:443Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 234: III. Un poco allegro2:234Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 234: IV. Allegro2:585Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 235: I. Vivace4:166Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 235: II. Andante2:257Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 235: III. Presto3:348Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 235: IV. Alla breve3:319Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 235: V. Allegro2:5810Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 215: I. Andante e staccato3:1611Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 215: II. Vivace3:0712Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 215: III. Largo2:1213Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 215: IV. Allegro3:3414Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 214 (Darmstadt 1715): I. Vivace2:3515Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 214 (Darmstadt 1715): II. Largo2:4016Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 214 (Darmstadt 1715): III. Allegro3:2917Dresden Concerto in D major, S. 226: I. Allegro molto3:1818Dresden Concerto in D major, S. 226: II. Adagio2:4819Dresden Concerto in D major, S. 226: III. Allegro2:5620Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 213: I. Allegro2:3921Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 213: II. Larghetto3:0522Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 213: III. Allegro3:1723Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 213: IV. Entrée1:3524Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 213: V. Loure: Cantabile1:4325Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 213: VI. Tempo de Menuet - Air italienne3:12Disc 21Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 233: I. Allegro3:112Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 233: II. Andante più tosto un poco allegro2:113Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 233: III. Presto3:214Dresden Concerto in C major, S. 211: I. Allegro2:165Dresden Concerto in C major, S. 211: II. Pastorell2:336Dresden Concerto in C major, S. 211: III. Adagio1:097Dresden Concerto in C major, S. 211: IV. Allegro assai2:108Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 231: I. Vivace2:209Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 231: II. Arioso2:5010Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 231: III. Allegro1:5111Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 232: I. Allegro2:2612Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 232: II. Andante3:0813Dresden Concerto in F major, S. 232: III. Allegro2:2514Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 217: I. Allegro3:3515Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 217: II. Largo e staccato2:4016Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 217: III. Grave1:5617Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 217: IV. Allegro6:4718Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 214 (Venezia 1715): I. Vivace2:5819Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 214 (Venezia 1715): II. Andante e staccato3:0320Dresden Concerto in G major, S. 214 (Venezia 1715): III. Vivace3:3521Serenata di Moritzburg in F major, S. 2043:0822Sonata for 3 oboes, 2 flutes & strings in A major, S. 208: I. Allegro1:3923Sonata for 3 oboes, 2 flutes & strings in A major, S. 208: II. Adagio e staccato0:4624Sonata for 3 oboes, 2 flutes & strings in A major, S. 208: III. Allegro0:5825Concert Movement for oboe, violin & strings in C minor, S. 2403:041996 · studio album
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Tracklist · 22 tracks · 2:09:12
Disc 11Les Lamentations du Prophète Jérémie - Lamentatio I: Incipit Lamentatio Jeremiae (Seibel 71; 1724)12:582Les Lamentations du Prophète Jérémie - Lamentatio II: Vau. Et egressus est (Seibel 72; 1724)10:403Les Lamentations du Prophète Jérémie - Lamentatio III: Jod. Manum suam misit hostis (Seibel 73; 1724)11:064Beatus vir (Seibel 26)4:145Alma mater redemptoris (Seibel 22; 1726)8:166Nisi Dominus aedificaverit (Seibel 99; 1723)5:047De profundis (Seibel 35)6:53Disc 21Oratorio de la Passion Nicht das Band, das dich bestricket (Seibel 20; 1724) - Aria "Nicht das Band, das dich bestricket"9:532Oratorio de la Passion Nicht das Band, das dich bestricket (Seibel 20; 1724) - Récitatif "So schleppt man dich zum Richthaus fort"0:493Oratorio de la Passion Nicht das Band, das dich bestricket (Seibel 20; 1724) - Coro "Kommt, schauet Petrus' Tränen an"3:324Oratorio de la Passion Nicht das Band, das dich bestricket (Seibel 20; 1724) - Recitativo "Ruchbarer Geist, verräterischer Sinn"2:095Oratorio de la Passion Nicht das Band, das dich bestricket (Seibel 20; 1724) - Aria "Ach mein Mund, ach meine Zunge"3:046Oratorio de la Passion Nicht das Band, das dich bestricket (Seibel 20; 1724) - Recitativo "Was nützt mir's nun,dass ich so rein an Füssen"2:047Oratorio de la Passion Nicht das Band, das dich bestricket (Seibel 20; 1724) - Aria "Min Herz, quille Blut"3:208Oratorio de la Passion Nicht das Band, das dich bestricket (Seibel 20; 1724) - Recitativo "O weh! Die ganze Schar schnaubt voller Grimm"1:169Oratorio de la Passion Nicht das Band, das dich bestricket (Seibel 20; 1724) - Aria "Die Sporne, die meinen Erlöser durch stechen"5:1610Oratorio de la Passion Nicht das Band, das dich bestricket (Seibel 20; 1724) - Recitativo "Jetzt Lösen sie dich auf"4:3211Oratorio de la Passion Nicht das Band, das dich bestricket (Seibel 20; 1724) - Aria "Der Abgrund muss erzittern"3:5912Oratorio de la Passion Nicht das Band, das dich bestricket (Seibel 20; 1724) - Recitativo "So leidet selbst die Unschuld so viel Qualen"4:1313Oratorio de la Passion Nicht das Band, das dich bestricket (Seibel 20; 1724) - Coro "Ich wünsche mir, Jesu, die einzig zum Ruhme"5:0614Warum toben die Heiden (Seibel 39; 1715)14:2815Pastorale en la majeur (Seibel 242)6:201999 · studio album
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Tracklist · 19 tracks · 57:48
1Concerto for 2 Oboes & Orchestra in E minor, S.222: I. Vivace2:312Concerto for 2 Oboes & Orchestra in E minor, S.222: II. Adagio2:223Concerto for 2 Oboes & Orchestra in E minor, S.222: III. Allegro3:224Concerto for Flute & Orchestra in D major, S.225: I. (Untitled)2:585Concerto for Flute & Orchestra in D major, S.225: II. Andante2:416Concerto for Flute & Orchestra in D major, S.225: III. Allegro3:087Concerto for Oboe & Orchestra in G minor, S.237: I. Allegro5:048Concerto for Oboe & Orchestra in G minor, S.237: II. (Untitled)2:139Concerto for Oboe & Orchestra in G minor, S.237: III. Vivace2:5610Concerto for Flute, Violin & Orchestra in E minor, S.218: I. Allegro2:4411Concerto for Flute, Violin & Orchestra in E minor, S.218: II. Adagio1:5412Concerto for Flute, Violin & Orchestra in E minor, S.218: III. Presto - Adagio2:0713Concerto for Flute, Violin & Orchestra in E minor, S.218: IV. Allegro2:4514Concerto for Oboe & Orchestra in A minor, S.212: I. (Untitled)3:2615Concerto for Oboe & Orchestra in A minor, S.212: II. Largo - Adagio4:0416Concerto for Oboe & Orchestra in A minor, S.212: III. Allegro3:3717Concerto for Oboe, Flute & Orchestra in G minor, S.238: I. Allegro3:0718Concerto for Oboe, Flute & Orchestra in G minor, S.238: II. Largo2:2719Concerto for Oboe, Flute & Orchestra in G minor, S.238: III. (Untitled)4:22Heinichen: Missa Nr. 11 / Dixit Dominus
2002 · studio album
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Tracklist · 24 tracks · 1:02:34
1Missa Nr. 11 in D: Kyrie3:032Missa Nr. 11 in D: Gloria in excelsis1:553Missa Nr. 11 in D: Qui tollis2:214Missa Nr. 11 in D: Quoniam1:355Missa Nr. 11 in D: Cum Sancto Spirito1:486Missa Nr. 11 in D: Credo3:417Missa Nr. 11 in D: Et resurrexit1:138Missa Nr. 11 in D: Et in Spiritum Sanctum2:379Missa Nr. 11 in D: Et vitam1:2210Missa Nr. 11 in D: Sanctus0:5311Missa Nr. 11 in D: Pleni sunt coeli1:0612Missa Nr. 11 in D: Benedictus1:4213Missa Nr. 11 in D: Osanna in excelsis1:2414Missa Nr. 11 in D: Agnus Dei I1:3115Missa Nr. 11 in D: Agnus Dei II2:1916Missa Nr. 11 in D: Agnus Dei III2:0517Dixit Dominus: Dixit Dominus5:4818Dixit Dominus: Virgam virtutis2:5219Dixit Dominus: Tecum principium2:5020Dixit Dominus: Juravit Dominus2:1921Dixit Dominus: Tu er sacerdos1:2922Dixit Dominus: Dominus a dextris7:0323Dixit Dominus: De torrente in via3:2524Dixit Dominus: Gloria patri6:132012 · studio album
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Tracklist · 26 tracks · 1:01:58
1Concerto a 7 in G major - 2 Oboes, 2 Violins, 2 Violas & B.C., Seibel 214: Vivace (1)2:342Concerto a 7 in G major - 2 Oboes, 2 Violins, 2 Violas & B.C., Seibel 214: Largo2:013Concerto a 7 in G major - 2 Oboes, 2 Violins, 2 Violas & B.C., Seibel 214: Allegro (1)3:314Concerto in G minor - Oboe, Strings & B.C., Seibel 237: Allegro (2)4:325Concerto in G minor - Oboe, Strings & B.C., Seibel 237 [Andante]2:086Concerto in G minor - Oboe, Strings & B.C., Seibel 237: Vivace (2)2:387Ouverture G Major - Strings & B.C., Seibel 206: Ouverture (1)3:508Ouverture G Major - Strings & B.C., Seibel 206: Entrée1:489Ouverture G Major - Strings & B.C., Seibel 206: Menuet (1)1:0110Ouverture G Major - Strings & B.C., Seibel 206: Gavotte0:4411Ouverture G Major - Strings & B.C., Seibel 206: Bourrée1:1712Ouverture G Major - Strings & B.C., Seibel 206: Loure2:3213Ouverture G Major - Strings & B.C., Seibel 206: Rondeaux0:3614Ouverture G Major - Strings & B.C., Seibel 206: Menuet (2)1:0715Concerto in A major - Oboe D'Amore, Strings & B.C., Seibel 228: Allegro Assai3:5016Concerto in A major - Oboe D'Amore, Strings & B.C., Seibel 228: Affettuoso (1)5:1417Concerto in A major - Oboe D'Amore, Strings & B.C., Seibel 228: Allegro (3)3:3718Concerto in D major - Violin, Strings & B.C., Seibel 224: Allegro (4)2:2019Concerto in D major - Violin, Strings & B.C., Seibel 224: Affettuoso (2)1:3920Concerto in D major - Violin, Strings & B.C., Seibel 224: Presto1:5321Ouverture G Major - 2 Oboes, Bassoon, Strings & B.C., Seibel 205: Ouverture (2)4:2922Ouverture G Major - 2 Oboes, Bassoon, Strings & B.C., Seibel 205: Air (1)1:4123Ouverture G Major - 2 Oboes, Bassoon, Strings & B.C., Seibel 205: Bourrée Alternativ (I)2:0324Ouverture G Major - 2 Oboes, Bassoon, Strings & B.C., Seibel 205: Air (2)1:4125Ouverture G Major - 2 Oboes, Bassoon, Strings & B.C., Seibel 205: Rigadon Alternativ1:5626Ouverture G Major - 2 Oboes, Bassoon, Strings & B.C., Seibel 205: Air Viste1:162022 · studio album
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Tracklist · 30 tracks · 1:14:55
1Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Coro “Come? S’imbrune il ciel”2:412Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Coro “E lumi e cor non ha chi lagrimar”0:513Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Recitativo “Ben ha cor di Giudeo”1:224Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Aria “Mio Gesù, dolce adorato”3:425Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Recitativo “Che miro?”1:066Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Recitativo accompagnato “O qual dura penar!”1:117Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Aria “Genti, genti”3:098Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Recitativo “Addolorata ed adorate Madre”2:269Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Aria “Madre, non isdegnar”4:4610Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Recitativo “Madre in Amor”1:2211Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Aria “Lato, mani, piè forati”4:0812Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Recitativo “O ciel?”1:4513Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Duetto “Croce mal nata”1:5114Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Recitativo “Qual rigore di padre!”0:3415Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Recitativo “Miseri ch’habbiam fatto?”1:0916Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Aria “Mia Sion, che facesti?”2:4117Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Recitativo “Piani popolo mio”1:1318Come? S’imbruna il ciel! Occhi piangete!, S. 29: Coro “Alla croce alme redente”2:4119L’aride tempie ignude, S. 30: Sinfonia3:0720L’aride tempie ignude, S. 30: Recitativo “L’aride tempie ignude”1:0821L’aride tempie ignude, S. 30: Aria “Di mia vittoria su questa tomba”4:2422L’aride tempie ignude, S. 30: Recitativo “Non dir superbo Gloria dell’armi tue d’un dio la morte”0:5123L’aride tempie ignude, S. 30: Aria “Di Giesù tenere viscere”5:2324L’aride tempie ignude, S. 30: Aria “E non ti sfacci cuor dispietato”4:3725L’aride tempie ignude, S. 30: Accompagnato “Marmi, ch’estino il sommo ben chiudete”1:3126L’aride tempie ignude, S. 30: Recitativo “Lagrime avventurose”0:4127L’aride tempie ignude, S. 30: Aria “Qual pianta”5:4428L’aride tempie ignude, S. 30: Recitativo accompagnato “Erger ti ardisci al favellar di spene”1:5429L’aride tempie ignude, S. 30: Recitativo “Per accendere altrui del vivo zelo”0:5430L’aride tempie ignude, S. 30: Coro “Quel core sincere sol giunge”6:03
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Johann David Heinichen head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 24 | 85.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 7 | 80.4th |
| Studio albums | 7 | 87.5th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 10 | 86.7th |
| Recording span (years) | -264 | 2.2th |
| Genres | 3 | 80.4th |
Awards & honours
Where this record comes from
aliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/ba1e98d6-a65a-470e-afa1-c36fcf6a62bbdiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/ba1e98d6-a65a-470e-afa1-c36fcf6a62bbcore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q506627seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_David_Heinichenbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_David_Heinichen
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: no portrait (not displayed: the licence credit is missing)
Wikidata: Q506627 · MusicBrainz: ba1e98d6-a65a-470e-afa1-c36fcf6a62bb
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