A baptismal record from Deventer dated 10 December 1643 serves as the most reliable marker for the start of the life of Johann Adam Reincken.
Formative years and training
Reincken began his musical education in Deventer between 1650 and 1654 under Lucas van Lennick, the organist at the Grote kerk. Seeking advanced instruction, he traveled to Hamburg in 1654 to study with Heinrich Scheidemann, who had himself been a pupil of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. Following a brief return to Deventer in 1657 to serve as organist of the Bergkerk, Reincken eventually settled in Hamburg to act as Scheidemann's assistant.
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Upon the death of Scheidemann in 1663, Reincken succeeded him as the organist at St. Catherine's Church. He maintained this post for the remainder of his career, despite a 1705 effort by church officials to install Johann Mattheson as his replacement. In 1665, he entered into marriage with one of Scheidemann's daughters. Unlike many peers, he accumulated significant personal wealth throughout his tenure.
Influence and legacy
Reincken occupied a central position in the landscape of Baroque music and the German organ schools. His work notably influenced Vincent Lübeck and Johann Sebastian Bach, who arranged several movements from Reincken’s 1688 collection Hortus musicus. Bach’s early association with Reincken is further evidenced by a manuscript copy of the chorale fantasia An Wasserflüssen Babylon that Bach created in 1700 for Georg Böhm.
Fast facts
- Born: 1643, Deventer
- Died: 1722, Hamburg
- Occupations: composer, organist, viol player, publisher
- Primary post: St. Catherine's Church, Hamburg
- Key publication: Hortus musicus (1688)
- Languages: German, Dutch
- Citizenship: Dutch Republic
Questions readers ask
What is the primary source of confusion regarding his birth date?
Johann Mattheson published a claim in 1722 that Reincken was born in 1623, but modern scholarship relies on a 1643 baptismal record found in Deventer.
How did he interact with Johann Sebastian Bach?
Bach was influenced by Reincken's organ compositions, specifically the fantasia on An Wasserflüssen Babylon, and transcribed several of his works.
Achievements
- Instruments: organ
