*1588 Nürnberg - †1666 Frankfurt am Main
In 1623, Johann Andreas Herbst took up the post of Kapellmeister in Frankfurt am Main, where he became the church music director of the former Barfüßerkirche, today’s Paulskirche. In 1636, he moved to Nuremberg to be Kapellmeister of the Frauenkirche. In 1644, he returned to Frankfurt and his former post, which he held until his death in 1666.
Despite the ravages of the Thirty Years’ War, Johann Andreas Herbst managed to breathe new life into Frankfurt’s music scene. He recruited new members for the orchestra, had them employed by the Council and founded a choir with choristers and choir boys whom he trained in the modern Italian style of singing. He also imported a great amount of sheet music, predominantly Italian and German, which now forms part of the historical collection of the Frankfurt University Library. The collection also holds several of Herbst’s own compositions, mainly sacred vocal music, such as motets, sacred concertos as well as larger-scale, polychoral concertos for feast days.
Further information:
Robert Eitner: Herbst, Johann Andreas. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Vol. 12, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1880, S. 50.
de.wikisource.org/wiki/ADB:Herbst,_Johann_Andreas
www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz29928.html