Biography
Kittel left his most enduring mark through the accomplishments of those he taught. Blending the chorale with the expressive “emotional (or feeling) style” that emerged in late-eighteenth-century Germany, he freed the form from its rigid cantus-firmus conventions. Among his pupils were M.G. Fischer, K.G. Umbreit, J.W. Hassler—Kittel’s own nephew—and J.C.H. Rinck, all of whom perpetuated his methods. An organist and pedagogue by profession, Kittel received brief instruction from J.S. Bach between 1748 and 1750 and became the composer’s preferred disciple in those final years. After serving as teacher and organist in Langensalza in 1751, he assumed the post at Erfurt’s Barfusserkirche in 1756 and moved to the Preigerkirche in 1762. Renowned as a virtuoso, he counted Goethe, Herder, and Wieland among his admirers. His approach to teaching is documented in the treatise “Der angehende parktische Organist,” which emphasized chorale accompaniment in the Bach lineage. Although brief compositions represented his primary strength, his extended organ works revealed deep understanding of chorale variation and counterpoint. The “Grosse Praludien” combined Bach’s contrapuntal traits with updated galant and symphonic techniques that reflected the emerging Classicism.