He was born in
Gräfenroda,
Thuringia, Germany, where he studied music with his father, moving to
Gotha to study with
Georg Benda in 1754, returning home in 1755. He went on to live in Amsterdam and The Hague between 1762 and 1763, eventually settling in
Kassel, Hesse, Germany, in 1764, where he was appointed court organist and
cantor in the
Lutheran church in 1772. He died there in 1803.
He wrote a
treatise on
music theory entitled Grundriss des Generalbasses (Principles of
basso continuo), Op. 16, pt. 1 (Kassel, 1783, 1796), which was very successful. Most of his compositions are
keyboard works in a similar
galant style to his father's, with
homophonic textures and clear
song-like
melodies. His
concertos for
harpsichord or
piano anticipate the
Viennese classical concerto, and share common features with his contemporary
C. P. E. Bach. Many of his works were popular in their own time, as demonstrated by their inclusion in several 18th-century collections.
Compositions
Concertos for piano or harpsichord
Published in Frankfurt:
Op. 4: 1 concerto
Op. 5: 3 concertos
Op. 7: 3 concertos
Op. 8: 3 concertos
Op. 11: 1 concerto
Several more have been lost.
Organ and piano
3 Vor- oder vielmehr Nachspiele, 3 Fugen, 3 Choral-Vorspiele, im Trio mit dem Canto-firmo, Op. 14, pt. 1, for organ (Kassel)
Orgel-Stücke von verschiedener Art, Op. 14, pt. 2, for organ (Kassel)
Mein trautes Röschen,
rondo for
piano (Speyer, 1782)