Kühnel, August

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Kühnel, August

Kühnel, August, German viola da gambist and composer; b. Delmenhorst, Aug. 3, 1645; d. c. 1700. He joined the Zeitz court chapel in 1661. After studies in Paris, he continued his service in Zeitz from 1665 but also acquired a notable reputation as a virtuoso on the viola da gamba via tours of Germany. His appearances in Dresden, Frankfurt am Main (1669), Munich (1680–81), and London (1682, 1686) were particularly notable. From 1686 to 1688 he was a musician and director of the instrumentalists of Landgravine Elisabeth Dorothea’s musical establishment in Darmstadt. After a sojourn in a similar capacity at the Weimar court, he was Kapellmeister at the Kassel court from 1695 to 1699. He publ. a collection of 14 Sonate ô partite (Kassel, 1698), which contains 6 sonatas for 2 Gambas and 8 sonatas for 1 Gamba, all with basso continuo.

—Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire