https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=mImuk-o81v4 – Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord

Froberger is seen both as a creator of the dance suite and as the basic influence on the German high
Baroque style of the early eighteenth century. His ultimate claim to greatness rests primarily on his
capacity to convey to us the intense emotions that he was able to express in a few bars lasting but a
moment or two.

He was born in Stuttgart where his father was court Kapellmeister. In 1634, the family moved to Vienna
and Johan became a singer in the imperial chapel. In 1637 after his father's death, Johan became court
organist in Vienna. In the same year, he was granted a leave and a stipend to go to Rome to study under
Frescobaldi. He spent three years in Rome before returning to Vienna. In 1645, he was off on his travels
again going to Rome to study with Athanasius Kircher. On his return to Vienna in 1649, the Empress
Maria Leopoldine died in August and the court's musical activities were suspended. Froberger left the
city and travelled widely for the next four years. In Paris Froberger became acquainted with many
major French composers including Louis Couperin and Denis Gaultier. In November 1652 Froberger
witnessed the death of the famed lutenist Blancrocher. Couperin, Gaultier, Dufaut and Froberger all
wrote tombeaux lamenting the event.

In 1653, Froberger was reinstated as Viennese court organist. After the death of Ferdinand III, he was a
political opponent of the new emperor Leopold I and consequently was dismissed. His final position was
as tutor to Princess Sibylla of Würtemberg-Montbéliard at Héricourt. He died suddenly during vespers
in May 1667. Froberger had made all necessary preparations a day before he died.

Some have credited him with the development of the baroque keyboard "suite." In any event, his
experience led him to fuse the basic "German" dance movement keyboard suite with the influences of
Italy and, particularly, those of France. In the latter he was principally drawn to the luténists, whose
style brisé (arpeggiated texture) he was able to incorporate into many of this keyboard suites or
"partitas". His use of a prelude in his suites, led Couperin to cultivate the unmeasured prelude.
Froberger contributed greatly to the exchange of musical traditions in Europe. His works were studied
by Pachelbel, Buxtehude, Georg Muffat and his son Gottlieb Muffat, Louis Couperin, Handel and J S
Bach among many others. Copies in Mozart's hand of the Hexachord Fantasia survive. Most of his music
was published posthumously beginning in the last decade of the seventeenth century, at a ripe moment
in the forging of High Baroque German national artistic consciousness. Thus his style, blending Italian
and French genres and techniques with quintessentially "German" contrapuntal thinking, was
immediately perceived as a foundation of this national style.

Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667)

https://www.talkclassical.com/threads/johann-jakob-froberger-1616-1667.55549/page-2