Photo: Johann Jakob Haid / After Johann Salomon Wahl · Public domain · credits
Tier 2 · legacy legend
Johann Mattheson
Person · male · Germany · Hamburg · born 1681 · died 1764 · recording since 1990
German composer and theorist (1681-1764)
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Also known as ヨハン・マッテゾン
Timeline
13 events▣ Album 10◦ Birth 1† Death 1★ Debut release 1
1680s
1760s
1990s
· Debut release
Debut release: Der brauchbare Virtuoso: 12 Kammer-Sonaten
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
2000s
2010s
Biography
English biography541 words · 7 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1372783118
Biography
Johann Mattheson (28 September 1681 – 17 April 1764) was a German composer, critic, lexicographer and music theorist. His writings on the late Baroque and early Classical period were highly influential, specifically, "his biographical and theoretical works were widely disseminated and served as the source for all subsequent lexicographers and historians".
Early life and career
Johann Mattheson was born on 28 September 1681 in Hamburg. The son of a prosperous tax collector, Mattheson received a broad liberal education and, aside from general musical training, took lessons in keyboard instruments, violin, composition and singing. By age nine he was singing and playing the organ in church and was a member of the chorus of the Hamburg opera. He made his solo debut with the Hamburg opera in 1696 in female roles and, after his voice changed, sang tenor at the opera, conducted rehearsals and composed operas himself. He was cantor at St. Mary's Cathedral, Hamburg from 1718 until increasing deafness led to his retirement from that post in 1728.
Mattheson's chief occupation from 1706 was as a professional diplomat. He had studied English in school and spoke it fluently. He became tutor to the son of the English ambassador Sir John Wich and then secretary to the ambassador. He went on diplomatic missions abroad representing the ambassador. In 1709 he married Catharina Jennings, the daughter of an English clergyman; they did not have any children.
Friendship with Handel
Mattheson was a close friend of George Frideric Handel, although he nearly killed Handel in a sudden quarrel during a performance of Mattheson's opera Die unglückselige Kleopatra, Königin von Ägypten in 1704. Handel was saved only by a large button which turned aside Mattheson's sword. The two were afterwards reconciled and remained in correspondence for life: shortly after his friend's death, Mattheson translated John Mainwaring's biography of Handel into German and had it published in Hamburg at his own expense ("auf Kosten des Übersetzers") in 1761.
Death
After his death in 1764, Johann Mattheson was buried in the vault of Hamburg's St. Michaelis Church where his grave can be visited.
Literary and musical legacy
Mattheson is mainly famous as a music theorist. He was the most prolific writer on performance practice, theatrical style, and harmony of the German Baroque. He is particularly important for his work on the relationship between the disciplines of rhetoric and music, for example in Das neu-eröffnete Orchestre, Hamburg 1713, and Der vollkommene Capellmeister, Hamburg 1739. However, his books draw attention also because Mattheson was a brilliant polemicist and his theories on music are often full of pedantry and pseudo-erudition.
The bulk of his compositional output was vocal, including eight operas, and numerous oratorios and cantatas. He also wrote a few sonatas and some keyboard music, including pieces meant for keyboard instruction. All of his music, except for one opera, one oratorio, and a few collections of instrumental music, went missing after World War II, but was given back to Hamburg from Yerevan, Armenia, in 1998. This includes four operas and most of the oratorios. The manuscripts are now located at the State and University Library Hamburg.
Operas
Die unglückselige Kleopatra, Königin von Ägypten (1704)
Boris Goudenow (1710)
Oratorios
Die heilsame Geburt (1715), Christmas oratorium
Das größte Kind (1720), Christmas oratorium
Der gegen seine Brüder barmherzige Joseph (1727), oratorium
Der liebreiche und geduldige David
Other languages
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 | 32 | 91.5th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 10 | 82.3th |
| Studio albums | 10 | 91.1th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 13 | 89.7th |
| Recording span (years) | -226 | 2.9th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (10 release groups · 10 studio albums)
Albums · 10
Der brauchbare Virtuoso: 12 Kammer-Sonaten
1990 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:46:10
Disc 11Sonata I, D major11:312Sonata II, G major8:403Sonata III, A major7:594Sonata IV, D major7:135Sonata V, G major8:346Sonata VI, E minor9:41Disc 21Sonata VII, A major6:062Sonata VIII, B minor10:573Sonata IX, E minor9:014Sonata X, A major9:245Sonata XI, D minor7:126Sonata XII, B minor9:52Die wohlklingende Fingersprache
1991 · studio album
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Tracklist · 18 tracks · 1:04:01
1Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga I (in Sol)2:242Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga II (in Do)4:093Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga III (in Fa)2:404Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga IV (in Si♭)3:215Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Allemande (in Si♭)1:356Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Corrente (in Si♭)1:227Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Gavotte (in Si♭)3:048Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga V. Adagio (in Mi♭)4:379Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga VI (in Do)6:3310Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fughetta (in Do)2:1111Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga VII. Grave (in Fa)4:3412Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga VIII (in Do): Sinfonia. Presto / Fuga. Andante5:3113Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga IX (in Fa)3:0914Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Burla. Vivace (in Fa)1:1115Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga X (in Sol)7:5716Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Seriosita (in Sol)2:4717Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga XI. A Tempo Giusto (in Do)2:4118Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga XII. Werde Munter Mein Gemüte (in Sol)4:152001 · studio album
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Tracklist · 19 tracks · 1:11:09
1Les doits parlans: Fuga I in G2:472Les doits parlans: Fuga II in c4:013Les doits parlans: Fuga III in F4:214Les doits parlans: Fuga IV in B3:245Les doits parlans: Allemande1:246Les doits parlans: Corrente1:157Les doits parlans: Gavotta3:098Les doits parlans: Fuga V in Es3:389Les doits parlans: Fuga VI in c7:0810Les doits parlans: Fughetta2:5111Les doits parlans: Fuga VII in f4:5412Les doits parlans: Sinfonia0:3313Les doits parlans: Fuga VIII in C6:2114Les doits parlans: Fuga IX in F2:5715Les doits parlans: Burla1:4016Les doits parlans: Fuga X in g9:4517Les doits parlans: Seriosità3:1118Les doits parlans: Fuga XI in c3:2819Les doits parlans: Fuga XII in G4:222004 · studio album
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Tracklist · 55 tracks · 1:39:38
Disc 11Sonate I, Ré majeur: Intrada3:032Sonate I, Ré majeur: Tempo di gavotta0:353Sonate I, Ré majeur: Adagio0:354Sonate I, Ré majeur: Allegro2:455Sonate I, Ré majeur: Adagio1:586Sonate I, Ré majeur: Aria2:387Sonate II, Sol majeur: (À tempo)2:008Sonate II, Sol majeur: Allegro2:189Sonate II, Sol majeur: Tempo di corrente1:3810Sonate II, Sol majeur: Tempo di giga2:1111Sonate III, La majeur: Adagio1:1812Sonate III, La majeur: Allegro1:3313Sonate III, La majeur: Grave1:4214Sonate III, La majeur: Giga2:0415Sonate IV, Ré majeur: Adagio0:5116Sonate IV, Ré majeur: Allegro0:5317Sonate IV, Ré majeur: Aria0:5918Sonate IV, Ré majeur: Premier double0:5219Sonate IV, Ré majeur: Deuxième double0:5420Sonate IV, Ré majeur: Troisième double0:5821Sonate IV, Ré majeur: Giga1:3722Sonate V, Sol majeur: Adagio2:5623Sonate V, Sol majeur: Allemande2:5524Sonate V, Sol majeur: Adagio1:1425Sonate V, Sol majeur: Giga2:1026Sonate VI, mi mineur: Andante1:4927Sonate VI, mi mineur: Corrente1:3328Sonate VI, mi mineur: Giga1:3129Sonate VI, mi mineur: Aria2:2730Sonate VI, mi mineur: Menuet0:40Disc 21Sonate VII, La majeur: Andante e cantabile1:422Sonate VII, La majeur: Presto1:413Sonate VII, La majeur: Loure1:574Sonate VII, La majeur: Gavotta0:235Sonate VIII, si mineur: Adagio2:246Sonate VIII, si mineur: Allemande2:367Sonate VIII, si mineur: Largo4:558Sonate VIII, si mineur: Giga1:369Sonate IX, mi mineur: Adagio2:1310Sonate IX, mi mineur: Allegro1:4711Sonate IX, mi mineur: Adagio2:5712Sonate IX, mi mineur: Giga1:1713Sonate X, La majeur: Vivace0:5014Sonate X, La majeur: Adagio2:0115Sonate X, La majeur: Allemande1:4516Sonate X, La majeur: Corrente1:5117Sonate X, La majeur: Giga1:1118Sonate XI, ré mineur: Adagio4:0319Sonate XI, ré mineur: Presto1:0320Sonate XI, ré mineur: Adagio0:4921Sonate XI, ré mineur: Allegro1:4222Sonate XII, si mineur: Alla Corelli2:4523Sonate XII, si mineur: Corrente1:5824Sonate XII, si mineur: Sarabanda1:5925Sonate XII, si mineur: Giga1:362005 · studio album
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Tracklist · 51 tracks · 1:49:04
Disc 11Sonata I in D major: Intrada2:422Sonata I in D major: Tempo di Gavotta0:383Sonata I in D major: Adagio0:274Sonata I in D major: Allegro3:055Sonata I in D major: Adagio2:146Sonata I in D major: Aria2:407Sonata II in G major: A Tempo1:588Sonata II in G major: Allegro2:579Sonata II in G major: Corrente con Discrezione1:3110Sonata II in G major: Giga2:1711Sonata III in A major: Adagio1:2812Sonata III in A major: Allegro1:5413Sonata III in A major: Grave1:4214Sonata III in A major: Giga2:3915Sonata IV in D major: Adagio / Allegro1:5316Sonata IV in D major: Aria avec trois doubles3:5117Sonata IV in D major: Giga1:4418Sonata V in G major: Adagio3:1919Sonata V in G major: Allemanda3:2320Sonata V in G major: Adagio1:1921Sonata V in G major: Giga2:0622Sonata VI in E minor: Andante2:1523Sonata VI in E minor: Corrente1:5624Sonata VI in E minor: Gigue1:5425Sonata VI in E minor: Air2:3226Sonata VI in E minor: Menuet0:41Disc 21Sonata VII in A major: Andante e cantabile1:452Sonata VII in A major: Presto1:433Sonata VII in A major: Loure1:504Sonata VII in A major: Gavotta0:535Sonata VIII in B minor: Adagio2:126Sonata VIII in B minor: Allemande2:317Sonata VIII in B minor: Largo4:588Sonata VIII in B minor: Giga1:389Sonata IX in E minor: Adagio3:1010Sonata IX in E minor: Allegro2:0411Sonata IX in E minor: Adagio3:0612Sonata IX in E minor: Giga1:2713Sonata X in A major: Vivace1:0614Sonata X in A major: Adagio2:0815Sonata X in A major: Allemande2:0016Sonata X in A major: Corrente1:5917Sonata X in A major: Giga1:4718Sonata XI in D minor: Adagio4:1019Sonata XI in D minor: Giga1:1220Sonata XI in D minor: Adagio1:0621Sonata XI in D minor: Allegro1:5622Sonata XII in B minor: Alla Corelli3:0423Sonata XII in B minor: Corrente2:2524Sonata XII in B minor: Sarabande2:0325Sonata XII in B minor: Giga1:462006 · studio album
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Tracklist · 34 tracks · 1:14:37
1Suite no. 1 in D minor: I. Prélude1:012Suite no. 1 in D minor: II. Allemande3:243Suite no. 1 in D minor: III. Double3:084Suite no. 1 in D minor: IV. Courante1:285Suite no. 1 in D minor: V. Double1:326Suite no. 1 in D minor: VI. Sarabande3:587Suite no. 1 in D minor: VII. Gique2:158Suite no. 12 in F minor: Allemande2:599Suite no. 12 in F minor: Courante1:3710Suite no. 12 in F minor: Sarabande1:4911Suite no. 12 in F minor: Gigue1:4212Suite no. 11 in C major: Sarabande2:2313Suite no. 5 in C minor: Air2:1214Suite no. 5 in C minor: Double1:5315Suite no. 5 in C minor: Second Double2:1016Suite no. 4 in G minor: Allemande4:0317Suite no. 4 in G minor: Courante2:2918Suite no. 4 in G minor: Courante à la Françoise2:1519Suite no. 4 in G minor: Sarabande2:5620Suite no. 4 in G minor: Gique1:3921Suite no. 6 in E-flat major: I. Prélude1:3922Suite no. 6 in E-flat major: II. Allemande3:0823Suite no. 6 in E-flat major: III. Courante2:0424Suite no. 6 in E-flat major: IV. Air1:4025Suite no. 6 in E-flat major: V. Double1:2326Suite no. 6 in E-flat major: VI. Gique1:0227Suite no. 6 in E-flat major: VII. Menuet1:3928Suite no. 9 in G minor: I. Boutade0:4129Suite no. 9 in G minor: II. Allemande3:3130Suite no. 9 in G minor: III. Courante 1miere1:2731Suite no. 9 in G minor: IV. Courante 2me2:4532Suite no. 9 in G minor: V. Air – Lentement2:3333Suite no. 9 in G minor: VI. Loure3:1734Suite no. 9 in G minor: VII. Gique0:55Das größte Kind – Christmas Oratorio
2009 · studio album
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Tracklist · 26 tracks · 56:03
1Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 1: Chorale "Gelobet seyst du Jesu Christ"2:322Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 1: Aria a 2 con Coro "Sey willkommen tausendmahl" (Maria, Joseph, Coro)2:363Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 1: Recitativo "So ist durch mich das Heil der Welt" (Maria, Joseph)1:004Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 1: Aria con Coro "Israel! freue dich" (Maria, Coro4:335Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 1: Recitativo "Erstarre doch verfinsterte Natur" (Joseph, Maria)1:106Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 1: Aria "Heller Glanz von's Vaters Licht" (Joseph)2:537Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 1: Corale "Das ewge Licht geht da herein"0:478Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 1: Aria a 2 "Wer kann dieses recht erwegen?" (Die Menschenkinder)3:219Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 1: Corale "Er kommt aus seines Vaters Schooß"2:1410Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Corale "Er äußert sich all sein' Gewalt"2:1811Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Recitativo "O allerliebstes Kind" (Das Nachdenken)0:1712Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Aria "Weg, du Kostbarkeit der Erden" (Das Nachdenken)4:4713Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Recitativo "Ist dis der Ort?" (Die Hirten und Hirtinnen, Maria, Joseph)2:1114Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Aria a 3 "Es klopft noch unsre volle Brust" (Die Hirten)3:4615Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Recitativo "Ja, was noch mehr" (Ein Hirte)0:3116Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Corale "In dulci jubilo"1:1417Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Aria con Coro "Großer Gott der du deine Allmacht neigest" (Die Andacht, Coro)2:1718Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Accompagnato "Gott hat mein Fleisch an sich genommen" (Die Braut Christi)1:0819Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Corale "O Jesu parvule"1:1320Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Accompagnato "Und will der Tod mir meine Augen brechen" (Die Braut Christi)0:4221Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Aria "Was schad't mir der Tod" (Die Braut Christi)2:4922Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Corale "Ubi sunt gaudia"1:1523Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Recitativo "O frohe Nacht" (Die Hirten)0:2624Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Aria "Komme dann erwehlte Seele" (Maria)6:4525Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Recitativo "So laßet uns des Herren Güte" (Joseph, Ein Hirte)0:4426Das größte Kind – Weihnachtsoratorium, Part 2: Corale "Das hat er alles uns gethan"2:34Die Wohlklingende Fingersprache
2015 · studio album
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Tracklist · 19 tracks · 1:13:42
1Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga I in G2:312Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga II in c3:293Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga III in F3:314Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga IV in B3:135Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Allemande1:136Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Corrente1:267Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Gavotta2:468Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga V in Es3:229Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga VI in c6:0310Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fughetta2:1911Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga VII in f5:3112Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga VIII: Sinfonia, Fuga in C6:2013Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga IX in F3:2114Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Burla1:2715Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga X in G9:5916Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Seriosità2:5617Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga XI in c3:0018Die wohlklingende Fingersprache: Fuga XII in G3:1419Sonata per Clavicembalo8:012017 · studio album
2018 · studio album
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Johann Mattheson head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 32 | 91.5th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 10 | 82.3th |
| Studio albums | 10 | 91.1th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 13 | 89.7th |
| Recording span (years) | -226 | 2.9th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Awards & honours
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johann_Mattheson_by_Haid.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/895a9155-5b85-43aa-b4e7-67d9b0989c39discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/895a9155-5b85-43aa-b4e7-67d9b0989c39core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q170333genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q170333seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Matthesonbiography—wikipedia-de · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Matthesonbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Mattheson
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: historic figure (32 language versions, career ended)
Image: Johann Jakob Haid / After Johann Salomon Wahl · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q170333 · MusicBrainz: 895a9155-5b85-43aa-b4e7-67d9b0989c39
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