Werner, Heinrich 10/02/1800 - 03/03/1833

Heinrich Werner was a German composer. He was the son of a teacher and church musician, and both of his brothers also became musicians. Heinrich studied music at home until he was 15. At the age of eleven he played the organ in the village church of Kirchohmfeld. Then he became a choirboy in Andreasberg, where his elder brother Fritz and his younger brother Wilhelm also attended. The elder brother became a music teacher in Braunschweig and called Heinrich to him. In Braunschweig Heinrich attended gymnasium and received musical instruction there.



Heinrich Werner wrote 84 compositions, mostly songs. His most famous song is "Sah ein Knab` ein Röslein stehn", which was first performed on January 20th, 1829 in a concert of the Braunschweiger Liedertafel, a choir which he directed. His melody was far better than the approximately one hundred melodies of other composers for the same text. It became like a folksong and brought him much renown.