Hanff, Johann Nikolaus

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Hanff, Johann Nikolaus

Hanff, Johann Nikolaus, German organist and composer; b. Wechmar, near Mühlhausen, 1665; d. Schleswig, 1711 or 1712. He was organist in Eupin and later in Hamburg (1706–11). A few months before his death, he was appointed organist at the Cathedral of Schleswig. He was a master of the chorale prelude, and his works considerably influenced J. S. Bach’s style in this form. Only 6 of his chorale preludes are extant (publ. 1907 by K. Sträube in his 45 Choralvorspiele alter Meister; reprinted by E. White in Masterpieces of Organ Music, N.Y, 1949); also extant are 3 cantatas.

Bibliography

H. Schillings, Tobias Eniccelius, Friedrich Meister, N. H.: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der evangelischen Frühkantate in Schleswig- Holstein (Kiel, 1934).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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