Christopher Meineke Explained

Christopher Meineke (né Christoph Meineke; 1 May 1782, Oldenburg – 6 November 1850, Baltimore) was an American organist and composer.

Life

Born in Oldenburg, he later moved to England around 1810 and eventually settled in Baltimore in 1820. Meineke's secular works were published by the Baltimore-based music printer, John Cole.^[1] As a composer, his alternative first names were Charles and Karl. Meineke was known for his interests in medieval and early Christian-themed composition, such as recreating Gloria Patri (Glory Be to the Father)^[2] or composing with the help of medieval era-evoking works by Felicia Hemans^[3] in a much more contemporary setting.

Compositions

• The Bird at Sea
• A New Instruction for the Piano Forte
• Works for the Fourth of July^[4]

Further reading

• Book: Young, Carlton R. . none . 1993 . Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal . . . 797 . 0-687-09260-4.
• Book: none . . Bunker Clark . J. . 1977 . Anthology of Early American Keyboard Music 1787-1830 Part 1 . . A-R Editions . x. 9780895790989 .

Notes and References

1. Book: Sanjek, Russell . 1988-07-28 . American Popular Music and Its Business: The First Four Hundred Years Volume II: From 1790 to 1909 . . . 124 . 978-0195364620.
2. Book: Studwell, William Emmett . 1996 . The National and Religious Song Reader: Patriotic, Traditional, and Sacred Songs from Around the World . . 94 . 978-0789000996.
3. Book: W. Finson, Jon . 1997-07-03 . The Voices that Are Gone: Themes in Nineteenth-Century American Popular Song . . . 26 . 978-0195354324.
4. Book: Heintze, James R. . 2015-05-07 . The Fourth of July Encyclopedia . . . 183 . 978-1476608556.