Johann Schop

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Johann Schop (c.1590-1667) was a German violinist and composer, much admired as a musician and a technician, who was a virtuoso and whose compositions for the violin set impressive technical demands for that area at that time.^[1] In 1756 Leopold Mozart commented on the difficulty of a trill in a work by Schop, probably composed before 1646.^[2]

He worked in Hamburg. He published books of violin music in 4 to 6 parts and some of his music was performed at the Peace of Westphalia celebrations.

His melody Werde Munter of 1641 was orchestrated by Johann Sebastian Bach for the chorale movements (6 and 10) of Bach's cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben. The sixth movement is "Wohl mir, daß ich Jesum habe", and the tenth movement is "Jesu bleibet meine Freude". Under the English title of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring Bach's chorale has been arranged for different instruments and has gained wide popularity.^[3]

[edit] References

1. ^ Boyden 1990, p. 136
2. ^ Boyden 1990, p. 168
3. ^ Arnold 1983, p. 993

• Boyden, David Dodge (1990), The History of Violin Playing from Its Origins to 1761, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0198161832 
• Arnold, Denis (1983), The New Oxford Companion to Music, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0193113163