Doles, Johann Friedrich

1715-1797

Composer and director, who was born at Steinbach in Saxe-Meiningen, Germany, and was educated for the most part at the Gymnasium there, where he was taught to play on the violin, clavier and organ. He was later a pupil of J. S. Bach, and in 1744 was appointed cantor of the Thomas School at Leipsic, remaining thirtythree years in that position. He retired about 1789. He was highly popular in Leipsic and wrote chiefly cantatas; motets; psalms; sacred odes; songs; chorales; chorale-preludes; a German magnificat; and some sonatas for the clavicembalo. Three settings of the Passion music according to St. Matthew, St. Mark and St. John, Te Deums and other sacred music is also attributed to him. Doles is said to have pleaded for the banishment of the fugue in church music, in spite of his association with that freat composer of fugues, Johann Sebastian Bach. His compositions, too, seem to have been more affected by the Italian opera than by Bach.