Briegel, Wolfgang Carl 05/21/1626 - 11/19/1712

Wolfgang Carl Briegel (1626-1712) was a German musician and composer. He received his musical education in Nürnberg and his first position in Schweinfurt. In 1650 he became an organist in Gotha and from 1671-1709 he was the kapellmeister at the court in Darmstadt. He stood out as a composer of sacred vocal works with instrumental accompaniment. We owe him the melody of the song "Welt ade! Ich bin dein müde" by Johann Georg Albinius. The Darmstädter Cantionale, which he edited, contains 291 melodies for 417 songs, including twelve invented himself. He revised the melodies according to his own compositional style, without regarding their original characteristics in their contemporary form. He also wrote secular vocal and instrumental compositions.