Friedrich Wilhelm Birnstiel

Friedrich Wilhelm Birnstiel was an 18th-century German music publisher known for publishing two volumes of four-part chorales by Johann Sebastian Bach in the 1760s.

Publications
Friedrich Wilhelm Birnstiel was active as a publisher and editor of music between 1753 and 1782. <!--

Between 26–27 July 1783, Johann Philipp Kirnberger, one of the closest students of Johann Sebastian Bach, died in Berlin, where he had worked since leaving Leipzig. Until his last weeks, he had attempted to realise a project for the complete edition of Bach's four-part chorales with the Leipzig publisher Johann Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopf. As the director of the Bach Archive (1992–2000) and editor of the Neue Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe, Hans-Joachim Schulze has given a detailed account of the complex history of Bach's four-part chorales in the 1983 Bach-Jahrbuch, with the title drawn from the phrase, "150 Stück von den Bachischen Erben"—a quotation from Kirnberger's letter to the younger Breitkopf, dated 1 July 1777. In the letter, Kirnberger discussed 150 chorales from Bach's heirs that Breitkopf had offered for sale, asking whether they were actually by Bach and whether the music was copied accurately. The first collector to attempt to produce a printed edition of the Bach chorales was Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, who started in 1758, employing the Berlin publisher Friedrich Wilhelm Birnstiel. The project was aborted in 1763 by Marpurg: the first part of the Birnstiel edition was published in 1765 up to No. 31 with a title page and preface by C.P.E. Bach. He was, however, dissatisfied with the second part of Birnstiel's 1769 edition. He broke off negotiations and surrendered the manuscript rights to Kirnberger in 1771. Despite Kirnberger's promises to publish Breitkopf's edition during the intervening period (1771–1777), no manuscripts materialised. Following a respectful pause to mark Kirnberger's death in 1783, C.P.E. Bach resumed discussion on the chorales with Breitkopf, with a positive outcome for the first installment in July 1784. With no further reasons to delay printing, the first installment began at the end of the year, followed by further annual installments until the whole collection was completed in 1787. After two false starts in 1765 and 1769, a new chapter thus commenced in the history of Bach's impact, as his choral repertory became more extensively available.

In all, three personages were therefore responsible for transmitting Bach's choral legacy after his death: all three of them had engaged in musical contact with him prior to 1750. In order of participation these were Marpurg, then C.P.E. Bach and finally Kirnberger.

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Oden mit Melodien
Oden mit Melodien (odes with melodies) was published in two volumes: The volumes contained works by Johann Friedrich Agricola, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Christian Bach, Franz Benda, Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch, Johann Gottlieb Graun, Carl Heinrich Graun, Johann Philipp Kirnberger, Christian Gottfried Krause, Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, Christoph Nichelmann and Johann Joachim Quantz.
 * Vol. 1 (1753, reprinted 1761)
 * Vol. 2 (1755)

Libretto of Graun's Der Tod Jesu cantata
In 1755 Birnstiel published Karl Wilhelm Ramler's libretto of Carl Heinrich Graun's cantata Der Tod Jesu. The music of this Passion setting was published five years later by Johann Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopf.

Kritische Briefe über die Tonkunst
The Kritische Briefe über die Tonkunst (critical letters about musical composition) were published from 1759 to 1764, edited by Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, who was also the author of most of the letters in this collection. They were published in three volumes:
 * Vol. 1, in four parts (letters 1–64, 1760).
 * Vol. 2, in four parts (letters 65–128, 1763).
 * Vol. 3, one part (letters 129–143, 1764).

Musikalisches Allerley


Musikalisches Allerley von verschiedenen Tonkünstlern (musical miscellaneous by various composers): Contains compositions by, among others, Johann Friedrich Agricola, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Thielemann Cramer, Jean-François Dandrieu, Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch, Carl Heinrich Graun, August Bernhard Valentin Herbing, Johann Gottlieb Janitsch, Johann Philipp Kirnberger, Christian Gottfried Krause, Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, Christoph Nichelmann, Johann Joachim Quantz, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Friedrich Wilhelm Riedt, Johann Heinrich Rolle, Johann Philipp Sack, Christian Friedrich Schale, Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Wenkel.
 * Vol. 1 (instalments 1–6, 1760, and instalment 7, 1761)
 * Vol. 2 (instalments 9–16, 1761)
 * Vol. 3 (instalments 17–24, 1761)
 * Vol. 4 (instalments 25–32, 1761)
 * Vol. 5 (instalments 33–40, 1761)
 * Vol. 6 (instalments 41–45, 1761, and instalments 46–48, 1762)
 * Vol. 7 (instalments 49–56, 1762)
 * Vol. 8 (instalments 57–64, 1763)
 * Vol. 9 (instalments 65–72, 1763)

Johann Philipp Kirnbergers Clavierübungen mit der Bachischen Applicatur
Johann Philipp Kirnbergers Clavierübungen mit der Bachischen Applicatur were published in four volumes from 1761 to 1766:
 * Vol. 1 (1761).
 * Vol. 2 (1762).
 * Vol. 3 (1763).
 * Vol. 4 (1766).

Descriptions of painting collections
Descriptions of painting collections, both published in 1763:
 * Beschreibung des Cabinets von Gemählden verschiedener berühmten Mahler des Herrn Johann Gottlieb Stein (description of Johann Gottlieb Stein's cabinet of paintings by various famous painters), with an introduction by Matthias Oesterreich.
 * Des Herrn Daniel Stenglin in Hamburg Sammlung von italienischen, holländischen und deutschen Gemählden by Matthias Oesterreich.

Kirnberger's Construction der gleichschwebenden Temperatur
Kirnberger's Construction der gleichschwebenden Temperatur was published in 1764.

Kleine Sing- und Spielstücke fürs Clavier
The Kleine Sing- und Spielstücke fürs Clavier von verschiedenen Meistern volumes contained mostly material that had already been published before, for instance as examples in Marpurg's Kritische Briefe:
 * Vol. 1 (1764)
 * Vol. 2 (1764)
 * Vol. 3 (1766)

Johann Sebastian Bachs vierstimmige Choralgesänge
The first volume of Johann Sebastian Bachs vierstimmige Choralgesänge was published in 1765, and the second volume in 1769. Each volume contained 100 chorale harmonisations, most of them by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Adlung's Musica mechanica organoedi and Musikalisches Siebengestirn
Jakob Adlung's Musica mechanica organoedi and Musikalisches Siebengestirn were published in 1768.

Berlinisches litterarisches Wochenblatt
Editions of the Berlinisches litterarisches Wochenblatt (Berlin literary weekly) were grouped in volumes:
 * 1776, 2 volumes.
 * 1777, 2 volumes.

Müller's Drey Sonaten for keyboard duet
Drey Sonaten, fürs Clavier: als Doppelstücke für zwo Personen mit vier Händen by Christian Heinrich Müller was published in 1782.