Peter Cornelius
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3 Chorgesänge, Op.113 Männerchöre, Op.123 Psalmlieder, Op.133 Zweistimmige Lieder, Op.64 Italienische Chorlieder, Op.206 Lieder, Op.16 Lieder, Op.5A
AbendgefühlAbsolve DomineAm MeerAm SeeAn Bertha, Op.15B
Beethoven-Lied, Op.10Blaue AugenBrautliederD
DämmerempfindungDas KindDer Barbier von BagdadDer CidDer EntferntenDer Tod des VerrätersDie HeimkehrDie RäuberbrüderDu kleine Biene, verfolg' mich nichtDuette, Op.16E
Es war ein alter KönigF
Freund HeinFrühling im SommerG
GesegnetGunlödH
Hirschlein ging in Wald spazierenI
Ich und duIm LenzIm tiefsten Herzen, glüht mir eine WundeIn der MondnachtIn SternennachtK
Komm herbei, TodL
Liebe ohne HeimatLiebe, Op.18Liebeslieder, Op.4M
Mainzer MägdeliedMein Liebchen ist nicht HeliotropMir ist, als zögen Arme mich schaurig himmelwärtsMorgenwindMusikalische WerkeMusje Morgenrots LiedO
O, kennt ihr nicht Emmchen die KleineO, VenusP
Preziosas Sprüchlein gegen KopfwehR
Reiterlied, Op.17ReminiszenzRequiemRequiem aeternamRheinische LiederS
Schäfers NachtliedScheiden und MeidenSo weich und warmSonnenaufgangSonnenuntergangT
Trauer und Trost, Op.3Trauerchöre, Op.9Trost in Tränen, Op.14V
Vater unser, Op.2Vätergruft, Op.19VerlustVerratene LiebeVisionW
Warum sind denn die Rosen so BlaßWas trauern doch die MägdeleinWeihnachtslieder, Op.8Z
Zu den Bergen hebet sich ein AugenpaarWikipediaCarl August Peter Cornelius (24 December 1824 – 26 October 1874) was a German composer, writer about music, poet and translator.
He was born in Mainz to Carl Joseph Gerhard (1793–1843) and Friederike (1789–1867) Cornelius, actors in Mainz and Wiesbaden. From an early age he played the violin and composed, eventually studying with Tekla Griebel-Wandall and composition with
Heinrich Esser in 1841. He lived with his painter uncle Peter von Cornelius in Berlin from 1844 to 1852, and during this time he met prominent figures such as Alexander von Humboldt, the Brothers Grimm, Friedrich Rückert and
Felix Mendelssohn.
Cornelius's first mature works (including the opera
Der Barbier von Bagdad) were composed during his brief stay in Weimar (1852–1858). His next place of residence was Vienna, where he lived for five years. It was in Vienna that Cornelius began a friendship with
Richard Wagner. At the latter's behest, Cornelius moved to Munich in 1864, where he took a wife and fathered four children.
In Britain to this day, Cornelius's best-known work is "The Three Kings", a song for voice and piano in which the soloist sings "Three Kings from Persian lands afar ...", while from the piano is heard the chorale tune of
Philipp Nicolai,
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern ("How brightly shines the morning star") underneath. An arrangement by
Ivor Atkins of "The Three Kings" for solo voice and choir is included in the first volume of the popular David Willcocks and Reginald Jacques compilation Carols for Choirs.
During his last few years in Berlin, Cornelius wrote music criticism for several major Berlin journals and entered into friendships with Joseph von Eichendorff, Paul Heyse and
Hans von Bülow. Despite his long-standing association with Wagner and
Franz Liszt (the latter on occasion sought Cornelius's advice when it came to matters of orchestration), Cornelius's relations with the so-called "New German School" of composition were sometimes rocky. For instance, he did not attend the premiere of
Tristan und Isolde, using the premiere of his own opera Der Cid as an excuse.
Cornelius's third and final operatic project, Gunlöd, based on the Norse eddas, was left incomplete at his death (from diabetes) in Mainz. He was buried in the city's Hauptfriedhof, and his grave can still be seen there.