Editing Leopold Schefer

{{Short description|German writer (1784–1862)}}
[[Image:Leopold Schefer.jpg|thumb|Leopold Schefer]]

'''Leopold Schefer''' (30 July 1784 in [[Bad Muskau|Muskau]] – 13 February 1862 in Muskau), German [[poet]], [[novelist]], and [[composer]], was born in a small town in Upper [[Lusatia]] (then under Saxon rule), the only child of a poor country doctor.

==Biography==
Leopold Schefer was educated, privately, by his parents, later on by the principal of the Muskau primary school, ''Andreas Tamm'', afterwards in a small private school of the former [[Hofmeister (office)|hofmeister]] of the local Earl of Callenberg, ''Johann Justus Röhde''. From 1799 up to 1805 he attended the secondary school (“Gymnasium”) at [[Bautzen]]. During this time he started  writing diaries, poems, and compositions, the last under the influence of his teacher ''Johann Samuel Petri''. After that he returned to Muskau, helping his widowed mother, while writing and composing.

During [[Napoleon]]'s failed campaign in Russia in 1812, Schefer was appointed manager of the big estates of his newly-won friend, [[Hermann von Pückler-Muskau|Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau]], doing well under hard circumstances until 1816. The prince, recognizing the literary abilities of his friend, encouraged his early poetical efforts. Having visited England together with Pückler for studying landscape gardens (and being deeply impressed by [[Eliza O'Neill]] on the stage), Schefer studied composition under [[Antonio Salieri]] in [[Vienna]] from 1816–17, and travelled to Italy, [[Greece]], Egypt, [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], and [[Turkey]]. Schefer returned in 1819 to Muskau, where he remained for all his life, married, fathering one son and four daughters, due to his literary success in easy - after the lost [[Revolutions of 1848 in Germany|German revolution 1848/49]] in poor - circumstances, following his literary pursuits until his death in 1862.<ref>See Bettina and Lars Clausen: ''Zu allem fähig'', 2 vols., Bangert & Metzler, Frankfurt on Main 1985.</ref>

==Works==
[[Image:Vigilien (Leopold Schefer) 268.jpg|Vigilien, by Leopold Schefer|thumb]]

Schefer wrote a large number of novels, short novels, and narratives which appeared mostly in literary [[almanac]]s. Some of his novels have been published in English, as e.g. ''Künstlerehe'' (1828, with deep insights into married life).<ref>Bettina Clausen: ''Leopold Schefer Bibliographie''. Frankfurt am Main 1985</ref>

Schefer was well known for his novels and their observative power, but even more for a single volume of poems, ''Laienbrevier'' (1834–1835). These, owing to their warmth of feeling, keen psychology, and descriptions of the beauties of nature, at once established his fame as a poet. This vein he followed in later years with the poems ''Vigilien'' (1843), ''Der Weltpriester'' (1846), and ''Hausreden'' (1869). Encouraged by his friend, the poet [[Max Waldau]] (1822–1855), he published ''Hafis in Hellas'' (Hamburg, 1853) and ''Koran der Liebe'' (Hamburg, 1855) containing with their glowing descriptions of the East love poetry of a realistic and high order.<ref name="eb1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Schefer, Leopold}}</ref> But, due to his [[Pantheism|pantheistic]] beliefs, his poetry and novels were barred from the curricula of the Prussian elementary and secondary schools, which resulted in his being forgotten after 1910.

On the occasion of Schefer's 222nd birthday on July 30, 2006, a whole day was devoted to several of Bad Muskau's events as part of the Lusatian Music Summer, above all to his compositional oeuvre.

==Selected publications==
* A selection of Schefer's works, ''Ausgewählte Werke'', in 12 vols, was published in 1845 (2nd ed., 1857).<ref>See [[Heinrich Julian Schmidt|Julian Schmidt]], ''Geschichte der deutschen Literatur im 18. Jahrhundert'', vol. ii.; Emil Brenning ''Leopold Schefer'' (1884), and Ludwig Geiger in: ''Dichter und Frauen'' (1896).</ref>
* Leopold Schefer, ''Ausgewählte Lieder und Gesänge zum Pianoforte'', ed. & introd. by [[Ernst-Jürgen Dreyer]], Munich: G. Henle (2004)

There are no studies about Schefer in English, but consult [[Bettina Clausen]] and [[Lars Clausen]], 1985.

===Publications during his lifetime===
* ''Gedichte'', 1811 („Poems“, ed. by the [[Hermann von Pückler-Muskau|Earl von Pückler-Muskau]])
* ''Leopold Schefer's Gesänge zu dem Pianoforte'', 1813 („Leopold Schefer's Songs“, ed. by the Earl von Pückler-Muskau)
* ''Palmerio'', 1823 (novel, situated in contemporary [[Greece]])
* ''Die Deportirten'', 1824 („The Deportees“, novel on self-government at [[Botany Bay]])
* ''Novellen'', 5 vols., 1825 (short novels)
* ''Die Osternacht'', 1826 („Easter Night“, novel on a flood disaster in [[Rhineland-Palatinate]])
* ''Der Waldbrand'', 1827 („The Bushfire“, novel, situated in Canada)
* ''Künstlerehe'', 1828
** tr. ''The Artist's Married Life; being that of [[Albrecht Dürer|Albert Dürer]]'', New York 1867, London 1895.
* ''Kleine lyrische Werke'', 1828 (poems)
* ''Neue Novellen'', 4 vols., 1831 (short novels)
* ''Lavabecher, Novellen'', 2 vols., 1833 (short novels)
* ''Die [[Leonora Christina Ulfeldt|Gräfin Ulfeld]] oder die vierundzwanzig Königskinder'', 2 vols., 1834 („Dame Ulfeld, or, the 24 Royal Children“, novel on a life sentence on a Danish rebel's widow)
* ''Laienbrevier'', 1834 (1st half of the year)/ 1835 (2nd half of the year). (pantheistic poems, until 1900 21 eds.)
** tr. ''The Layman's Breviary, or meditations for every day in the year'', Boston (Mass.): C. T. Brooks 1867
* ''Kleine Romane'', 6 vols., 1836 (short novels)
*''Das große deutsche Musikfest'', 1837 („The Great German Music Festival“, novel)
* ''Doppelsonate A-Dur zu 4 Händen'', 1838 (composition)
* ''Doppelkanon zu 4 Chören'', 1838 (composition)
* ''Der Gekreuzigte oder Nichts Altes unter der Sonne'', 1839 („The Crucified, or, Nothing Old Under the Sun“, novel on a genocide in the [[Ottoman Empire]] [subject taken up and transferred to the 20th century by [[Franz Werfel]], ''[[The Forty Days of Musa Dagh]]''])
* ''Mahomet’s Türkische Himmelsbriefe'', 1840 („Muhammad’s Turk Letters from Heaven“, poems)
* ''Viel Sinne, viel Köpfe'', 1840 („Many Meanings, Many Minds“, narrative)
* ''Göttliche Komödie in Rom'', 1841 („Divinia Comedia in Rome“, novel on the trial and execution of [[Giordano Bruno]])
* ''Sechs Volkslieder zum Pianoforte'', 1841 (compositions)
* ''Graf [[Promnitz]]. Der letzte des Hauses'', 1842 („Earl Promnitz, the Last of the House“, novel)
* ''Vigilien'', Gedichte, 1843 (poems)
* ''Ausgewählte Werke'', 12 vols., 1845/46 ( „Selected Works“)
* ''Weltpriester'', Gedichte, 1846 („The Worldly Priest“, poems)
* ''Génévion von Toulouse'', 1846 („Génévion of Toulouse“, novel)
* ''Gedichte'' (2nd ed.), 1846 („Poems“)
* ''Achtzehn Töchter. Eine Frauen-Novelle'', 1847 („18 Daughters. A novel for Women“, short novel)
* ''Die Sibylle von Mantua'', 1852 („The Sibyl of Mantua“, narrative)
* ''Hafis in Hellas'', (anonymously: "Von einem Hadschi"), 1853 (''Hafis in Greece''. By a Hadschi, love poems)
* ''Koran der Liebe nebst kleiner Sunna'', (anonymously) 1855 („Koran of Love, with a small Sunna“, love poems)
* ''Hausreden'', 1855 („Domestic Speeches“, poems)
* ''Der Hirtenknabe Nikolas, oder der Kinderkreuzzug im Jahre 1212''; 1857 („The Shepard Boy Nikolas, or, the Children’s Cruisade, 1212“, novel)
* ''[[The Apotheosis of Homer|Homer’s Apotheose]]'', 1858 („Homer’s Apotheosis“, hexametric [[epic poetry|epos]] on the real [[Homer]])

===Posthumous===
* ''Für Haus und Herz. Letzte Klänge'',1867 ("For Home and Heart", ed. [[Rudolf Gottschall]], poems)
* ''Buch des Lebens und der Liebe'', 1877 ("The Book on Life and Love". ed. & worked over by [[Alfred Moschkau]])
* ''Ausgewählte Lieder und Gesänge zum Pianoforte'', with e preface ed. by [[Ernst-Jürgen Dreyer]], München: G. Henle 2004 (songs for the pianoforte)
* ''Tagebuch einer großen Liebe. 22 Lieder von Leopold Schefer'', CD, ed. by Freundeskreis Lausitzer Musiksommer. KONSONANZ Musikagentur, Bautzen 2006. Labelcode LC 01135 ("Diary of a Great Love. 22 Lieder of Leopold Schefer", compositions and poems)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [[Bettina Clausen]]: ''Leopold Schefer Bibliographie'' Bangert & Metzler, Frankfurt on Main 1985, {{ISBN|3-924147-10-8}} (“Leopold Schefer [[Bibliography]]” [including an iconography])
* Bettina Clausen, [[Lars Clausen]]: ''Zu allem fähig. Versuch einer Sozio-Biographie zum Verständnis des Dichters Leopold Schefer''. 2 vols., Bangert & Metzler, Frankfurt on Main. 1985, {{ISBN|3-924147-09-4}} (“Capable for Everything. Approach to a Socio-Biography of the Poet Leopold Schefer”)
* Bernd-Ingo Friedrich: ''Leopold Schefer. Dichter, Komponist, 1784-1862'', Neisse Verlag, Görlitz 2005, {{ISBN|3-934038-45-X}} (“Leopold Schefer. Poet and Composer, 1784-1862”)
* [[Ernst-Jürgen Dreyer]]/Bernd-Ingo Friedrich: ''“Mit Begeisterung und nicht für Geld geschrieben”. Das musikalische Werk des Dichters Leopold Schefer'', Gunter Oettel, Görlitz & Zittau 2006. {{ISBN|3-938583-06-1}}, {{ISBN|978-3-938583-06-7}} (“Written With Enthusiasm and not for Money. The Musical Œuvre of the Poet Leopold Schefer”)

==External links==
* {{Gutenberg author | id=40436| name=Leopold Schefer}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Leopold Schefer}}
* {{librivox author|id=13880}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schefer, Leopold}}
[[Category:1784 births]]
[[Category:1862 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Bad Muskau]]
[[Category:German poets]]
[[Category:19th-century German novelists]]
[[Category:German Romantic composers]]
[[Category:People from the Electorate of Saxony]]
[[Category:German male poets]]
[[Category:German male novelists]]
[[Category:19th-century German classical composers]]
[[Category:German male classical composers]]
[[Category:19th-century German male writers]]
[[Category:19th-century German male musicians]]
[[Category:Pantheists]]
[[Category:18th-century German novelists]]