Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

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RIDOTTO RIEMANN 95
and friend of Robert Burns. He was an army
(or Volunteer) captain, and resided on the family
estate Glenriddell, Dumfriesshire. He was an
amateur composer of Scottish dance music, and
wrote the music to one or two of Bums's songs.
His most interesting publication (1794) is 'A
Collection of Scotch, Galwegian, and Border Tunes
. . . selected by Robert Riddell of Glenriddell,
Esq.,' folio. He died at Friai-s' Carse, April 21,
1794. F. K.
RIDOTTO. See Redoute.
RIEDEL, Carl, bom Oct. 6, 1827, at Kronenberg
in the Rhine provinces. Though always
musically inclined he was educated for trade,
and was at Lyons in the silk business until
1848, when he determined to devote himself
to music as a profession. He returned home
and at once began serious study under the
direction of Carl Wilhelm, then an obscure
musician at Crefeld, but destined to be widely
knowix as the author of the Wacht am '
Rhein.
Late in 1849 Riedel entered the Leipzig Conservatorium,
where he made great progress
under Moscheles,Hauptmann,Becker,andPlaidy.
He had long had a strong predilection for the
vocal works of the older masters of Germany
and Italy. He practised and perfonned in a
private society at Leipzig Astorga's ' Stabat,'
Palestrina's Improperia,' and Leo's ' ' Miserere,'
and this led him to found a singing society of
his own, which began on May 17, 1854, with
a simple quartet of male voices, and was the
foundation of the famous Association which,
under the name of the ' Riedelsche Verein,' was
so celebrated in Leipzig. Their first public
concert was held in November 1855. The
reality of the attempt was soon recognised ;
members flocked to the society ; and its first
great achievement was a performance of Bach's
B minor Mass, April 10, 1859. At that time
Riedel appears to have practised only ancient
music, but this rule was by no means maintained
; and in the list of the works performed
by the Verein we find Beethoven's Mass in D,
Kiel's 'Christus,' Berlioz's 'Messe des Morts,'
and Liszt's Graner Messe ' ' and ' St. Elizabeth.'
Riedel's devotion to his choir was extraordinary
he was not only its conductor, but librarian,
secretary, treasurer, all in one. His interest
in the welfare of music was always ready and
always effective, and many of the best vocal
associations of North Germany owe their success
to his advice and help. He was one of the
founders of the ' Beethovenstiftung,' and an
earnest supporter of the Wagner performances
at Bayreuth In 1876. His own compositions
are chiefly part-songs for men's voices, but he
edited several important ancient works by
Praetorius, Franck, Eccard, and other old German
writers, especially a 'Passion' by Heinrich
Schiitz, for which he selected the best
portions of four Passions by that master—
proceeding certainly deserving all that can be
said against it. Riedel died in Leipzig, June
3, 1888. G.
RIEM, Wilhelm Fmedrich, born at CoUeda
in Thuringia, Feb. 17, 1779, was one of J. A.
Hiller's pupils in the Thomasschule at Leipzig.
In 1807 he was made organist of the Reformed
church there, and in 1814 of the Thomasschule
itself. In 1822 he was called to Bremen
to take the cathedral organ and be director of
the Singakademie, where he remained till his
death, April 20, 1837. He was an industrious
writer. His cantata for the anniversary of the
Augsburg Confession, 1830 (for which Mendelssohn's
Reformation Symphony was intended)
is dead ; so are his quintets, quartets, trios,
and other large works, but some of his eight
sonatas and twelve sonatinas are still used for
teaching purposes. He left two books of studies
for the PF. , which are out of print, and sixteen
progressive exercises, besides useful compositions
for the organ. G.
RIEMANN, Karl Wilhelm Julius Hugo,
was born at Grossmehlra near Sondershausen,
July 18, 1849, and studied law, etc., at Berlin
and Tiibingen. He saw active service in the
Franco -German war, and afterwards devoted
his life to music, studying in the Leipzig Conservatorium.
After some years' residence at
Bielefeld as a teacher, he was appointed to the
post of ' privatdozent ' in the University of
Leipzig, which he held from 1878 to 1880,
going thence to Bromberg ; in 1881-90 he was
teacher of the piano and theory in the Hamburg
Conservatorium, and subsequently (after a threemonths'
stay at the conservatorium of Sondershausen)
was given a post at the Conservatorium
of Wiesbaden (1890-95). In the latter year
he returned to Leipzig, '
a lecturer in the
University, and in 1901 was appointed professor.
He has been amazingly active as a writer on
every branch of musical knowledge, but his work
is as thorough as if it had been small in extent.
On the teaching of harmony, on musical phrasing
and the peculiarities of notation required for
explaining his system to students, he has
strongly supported various innovations, most
of them due to his own inventive faculty. The
complete list of his works is given in his own
Musiklexikon, to which the reader must be
;'
referred Die Naiur der Earmomik (1882),
Vereinfachie Harmonielehre (1893), Lehrhuch
des . . . CbjiirapMmtfe (1888), have been translated
into English, as well as the various
catechisms dealing with every branch of
musical study, and the famous Musiklexikon
(first editioii, 1882, sixth, 1905, Engl, translation,
1893, etc.). The useful Opernhandbuch
(1884-93) and works on musical history must
not be forgotten. As a practical illustration of
his excellent method of teaching the art of
phrasing, his editions of classical and romantic
pianoforte music, called 'Phrasierungsausgaben,'
may be mentioned. He has edited many