Johann Nikolaus Forkel

Johann Nikolaus Forkel (22 February 1749, Medeer, Coburg, Bavaria — 20 March 1818, Göttingen, Lower Saxony) was a distinguished German musicologist, music theorist, and writer, widely regarded among the earliest forerunners of modern musicology. His extensive collection of books and manuscripts is at the Berlin State Library and Königliches Musik-Institut Berlin. Forkel received his early musical training, particularly on keyboards, from a local Kantor in Coburg; otherwise, Johann Nikolaus was self-taught. In 1769, he enrolled in the University of Göttingen, soon appointed as the organist at the campus church. Forkel remained at the University for over 50 years, serving as the music theory instructor, keyboard teacher, and subsequently as the head of music faculties. In 1787, he received the Universität Göttingen's honorary doctorate. He was an admirer and strong proponent of Johann Sebastian Bach, actively popularizing and disseminating the composer's name. In 1802, Johann Forkel authored Bach's first detailed biography and extensively corresponded with his sons, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. Throughout his career, Forkel wrote several prominent works, including 1777 Über die Theorie der Musik ("On the Theory of Music"), the 1778 Musikalisch kritische Bibliothek ("Musically critical library"), Musikalischer Almanach für Deutschland ("Musical Almanac for Germany") in 1782, and multi-volume Allgemeine Geschichte der Musik ("General History of Music") published in Leipzig between 1788 and 1801. The Allgemeine Litteratur der Musik ("General Literature of Music"), first published in 1792, featured a systematic analysis of the entire history of music, from ancient Greeks and Romans to XVIII-century Europe; it was reprinted and translated several times, known as the "Dictionary of Musical Literature" in English.