Hieronymus Florentinus Quehl

Quehl was born in Zella, Holy Roman Empire, the son of a parish clerk. He was a gifted musician who by the age of ten was performing in Northern European cities, including Hamburg, Amsterdam, Leyden and The Hague. His primary organ teacher at the time was Kapellmeister Christian Friedrich Witt of Gotha. In 1714 Quehl assumed the position of organist at St. Marien Cathedral in Suhl. Four years later, he married into the family of St. Marien's head pastor. His marriage produced eight children, six of whom did not survive infancy. Johann Sebastian Bach, then the Kapellmeister at the Court in Köthen, was godfather to Quehl’s third son. In 1730, Quehl was appointed organist and cantor at St. Nicolai in Marktbreit am Main. From 1732 to 1733, he taught organ and composition to Johann Peter Kellner, who later wrote: "[Quehl's] skill and other musical abilities inspired me to give it a try. The man promised to teach me and it was here my foundations of composition were made." Quehl was an organist in Nurnberg in 1734. In 1735, he joined the church school service as a cantor, organist and Music Director at St. Michael in Fürth, where he remained until the end of his life. Quehl died in Fürth on 27 March 1739.