THE POLISH-SAXON EPISODE IN THE LIFE OF GREGOR JOSEPH WERNER

Musicological literature devoted to the life and works of Gregor Joseph Werner (1693–1766) has remained very limited. Researchers have usually been motivated to discover more about him for two reasons: the fact that from 1728 he was Kapellmeister at the court of the Esterházy princes in Eisenstadt, and that while there he met and worked with the great Joseph Haydn. It is no exaggeration to claim that Werner is usually mentioned only because of this association: he has found his way into music history on account of his connection with Haydn. However, this approach leaves too much room for a superficial assessment of Werner's achievements as a composer. Haydn valued his music and commented on it favourably. His private music collection included Werner's Good Friday oratorios and arrangements of the Lamentations of Jeremiah. In a striking testament to the respect he had for Werner's music, Haydn also arranged six of Werner's fugues for string quartet, writing his own musical introductions, and published them with Artaria in Vienna in 1804 as VI Fugen in Quartetten auf zwey Violin, Viola und Violonzell von G. J. Werner Weyland Kapelmeister S. D. des Fürsten N. Esterházy etc. / Aus besonderer Achtung gegen diesen berühmten Meister nun herausgegeben von dessen Nachfolger J. Haydn, a volume dedicated to Prince Nicholas Esterházy II.