Hiller, Schicht, and the Crises of Church and State, 1785–1823

This chapter is the second of three chapters to look at the relationship between a Thomaskantor, who oversaw the church music, and a Kapellmeister (music director) of the public concerts. Thomaskantor Johann Adam Hiller and Kapellmeister Johann Gottfried Schicht are examined. Schicht succeeded Hiller as Gewandhaus orchestra director in 1785, and eventually became Thomaskantor in 1810, succeeding August Eberhard Müller. At the Gewandhaus, Schicht increased the amount of sacred music performed, while adjusting the concert repertoire to reflect changes that Hiller, in partnership with Church Superintendent Johann Georg Rosenmüller, implemented in the churches. The invasion of Napoleon into Saxony affected the public performance of music. When Schicht became Thomaskantor, church attendance was down. Schicht geared the performance of church music to attract middle-class concert audiences to the church. The Gewandhaus was now the dominant music institution in Leipzig, and church music would imitate it.