Carl Friedrich Abel German composer and viola da gamba player Date of Birth: 22.12.1723 Country: Germany

1. Biography of Carl Friedrich Abel
2. Move to England and Collaboration with Johann Christian Bach
3. Composer and Legacy

Biography of Carl Friedrich Abel

Carl Friedrich Abel was a German composer and viola da gamba player. He was born on December 22, 1723, in Köthen, Germany, and passed away on June 20, 1787, in London. Abel's father, Christian Ferdinand Abel, had a close relationship with Johann Sebastian Bach. It is believed that it was on Bach's recommendation that the 24-year-old Abel joined the Dresden Court Orchestra under the direction of Johann Adolf Hasse in 1748, where he worked for 10 years.

Move to England and Collaboration with Johann Christian Bach

In 1759, Abel moved to England, where he became the court composer for Queen Charlotte, wife of George III. After the arrival of Johann Christian Bach in London in 1762, Abel and the younger Bach worked together extensively. In 1764, they established a joint concert project, which became the first subscription concert series in England. Abel gained recognition as a virtuoso musician, and he was hailed as the last great gambist by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Interestingly, Christian Döbereiner, who revived the performance of the viola da gamba, made his debut as a gambist in 1905 by performing one of Abel's sonatas.

Composer and Legacy

Abel's compositional legacy is quite extensive. Although one of his symphonies gained the most fame in a rather curious way - its manuscript score was found among the papers of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and published under his name as Symphony No. 3 (K 18). It seems that young Mozart copied it for himself in 1764 for educational purposes. Abel composed numerous symphonies, sonatas, concertos, and overtures. He also enthusiastically participated in the composition of comedic opera pastiches, which were typically the result of collective creativity. His music, along with Johann Christian Bach's, can be heard in the three-act opera "Tom Jones" based on Henry Fielding's novel, which was staged in London in 1769.