Biblioteca de la Guitarra y Cuerda Pulsada

David Kellner's fame rests on his thorough-bass treatise TreulicherUnterricht im General-Bass...(Hamburg, 1732) and his lute tablaturebook XVI auserlesene Lauten-Stücke...(Hamburg, 1747). TheTreulicher Unterrichtwent through no less than eight Germaneditions from 1732 up to 1796, two Dutch, one Swedish and oneRussian. Several copies of the different editions are to be found inlibraries around the world indicating the impact Kellner's thoroughbass treatise must once have had. Of his lute book, on the other hand,only two copies seem to be preserved. A few of his lute pieces are tobe found in manuscript sources. The XVI auserlesene Lauten-Stücke was furthermore one of the last lute tablature books to be published. In spite of all this not much has been known about David Kellner's life and even if he is mentioned in most musical dictionaries the information given is often rudimentary and sometimes incorrect  Only two musicologists have paid any attention to him: Elwyn A. Wienandt and Gun Fridell. Their work, however, concentrates on Kellner's music and thorough bass treatise and not on his biography, a subject which will be the principle object of this article.
 

davidkellner-a biography