Franz Christophe Neubauer (1760?-1795)

Dennis Pajot

                                 Franz Christoph Neubauer was born in Horin (central Bohemia) in about 1760 of peasant parents. According to Gustv Schilling he received his early musical training from a local schoolmaster and went to Prague to further his studies. Like many musicians of the time during his travels he stopped in many monasteries, performing and composing for food and lodging. One of these documented stops was in Ottobeuren, where he taught music intermittently from 1783 to 1787. Another was in Schöntal, where Abbe Vogler expressed great admiration for his talents. Friedrich von Schlichtergroll published an obituary in 1798 of Neubauer providing much information, included that he traveled to Munich and Vienna and met Haydn, Mozart, Kozeluch and Wrantizky.

In 1790 Neubauer was appointed a permanent post to direct the chapel at Weilburg, but was forced to flee when the French revolutionary armies invaded in 1794. He soon accepted a position at the court of the Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe in Bückeburg. However the Konzertmeister there was Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, who had been in service there since 1750. At first Bach was cordial to Neubauer, but soon a rivalry developed between the two composers. Bach died on January 26, 1795, and Neubauer took over the Konzertmaster job. However on October 11, 1795, Neubauer died, succumbing to an illness that was attributed to excessive drinking.

Neubauer's reputation has improved considerably over the years. Schilling in his 1837 Encyclopedia, referring to Neubauer's "customary disorderly life style", stated many of his works were written "in the entrance halls or correctly expressed, in Beer and Wine Houses".

Later in that century Wilhelm Heinrich Riehl wrote, "powerful flashes of genius flamed here and there in Neubauer's works, but mostly only to dissolve into thoughtless triviality or desolate disarray". Riehl stated the best of Neubauer's works remained in manuscript or were lost. Riehl did however state there was a large number "of not insignificant church compositions written" for his wandering life, which found him in many monasteries. Schilling had also told us this in his encyclopedia entry: "Many Masses and individual Church pieces, of which he no doubt himself neither possessed the originals or copies, were dispersed in many Klöster archives, and most likely through their secularization have been lost".

Part of the problem was that in the 19th Century it was unsure what Neubauer's actual first name was. Many of his compositions are attributed to Franz, Johann, Christian or Christoph. Riehl blamed this on Neubauer's "social inattentiveness", however the alternation of Christian and Christoph could be a wrong interpretation of the shortened "Christ:".

It was once thought Neubauer was only a "Sonata Composer", but according to R. D. Sjoerdsma he was a prolific and remarkably facile composer in a variety of fields. Eleven of his eighteen symphonies are extant, 5 concertos, numerous string quartets, and other chamber music. He also composed a Schauspiel, an Oratorio and over 30 songs. More recent research by Robert Münster has shown Neubauer also wrote a considerable amount of church music. The New Grove lists about 40 Masses, 8 Requiems, 4 Vespers and numerous other shorter sacred works. His Mass in Eb is singled out for containing a Clarinet part and his Stabat mater (1781) is of remarkable quality.
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What prompted this article on Neubauer's life was a short portion of an article I found that in the music archive of the Vienna "Maria Treu" church a set of parts (from about 1790) for a Mass in C by "Sigre Giov: Neubauer" was discovered in the 1960's. Appended to these parts is a particella of 8 pages with 16 written on sides from the hand of Mozart's younger contemporary Johann Baptist Henneberg (1768-1822), designated solely with "di Neubauer".

This same Mass is listed in K6 as "Missa solemnis in C" under K.Anh C1.34. The copy listed in K6 is from about 1800 from the Stadpfarramt Krems. It contains the note "Die St. Pöltnerische Mass of Herrn Mozart". Karl Pfannhauser believes this "Giov Neubauer" is indeed Franz Christoph Neubauer, and from the above attributed the Mass to Neubauer.
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Although the Mass in C has never been recorded, I have one recording from Neubauer in my collection. And it is a rather different piece. It is his Sinfonie Op.11, titled "La Bataille di Martinestie oder Coburgs Sieg über die Türken". Written in 1789, it was premiered at Heilbronn and received great acclaim. André published it in 1794 and a second edition printed in 1809. J. Amon published the work in Neubauer's piano transcription at Heilbronn in 1795.

It is a program symphony of the battle in which the Russians and the Austrians, united under Surórov and Prince Friedrich Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld, were victorious over the Turks at Martinestie on September 22, 1789. The symphony consists of seven sections, each having a descriptive title: "Le Matin", "Allarme au camp", "Harangue aux guerriers" (with bassoon solo), "Les Deux Armées se rangent en ordre de bataille", "Le Bataille", "Retour au camp", and "Célébratiion de la victoire."

The old Nonesuch LP (H71146) also contains a piece called "Battalia" by Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, a suite by Jean Francois Dandrieu called "Les Caracteres de la Guerre" and Mozart's Contredance "The Victory of the Hero Coburg" K587--honoring the same victory as Neubauer's symphony. Newell Jenkins conducts the Angelicum Orchestra of Milan on this recording.

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