Antonín Reichenauer (also known as Johann Anton Reichenauer, born c. 1694

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

; died 17 March 1730 in

Jindřichův Hradec Jindřichův Hradec (; german: Neuhaus) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 21,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. Administrative par ...

) was a

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Life

Nothing is known about Antonín Reichenauer's childhood and upbringing. The first records are of his post as choirmaster in 1721 at the Dominican church of St. Mary Magdalene in

Malá Strana Malá Strana (Czech for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or more formally Menší Město pražské () is a district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, and one of its most historic neighbourhoods. In the Middle Ages, it was a dominant center o ...

in Prague. He was also associated with the chapel of Count Wenzel Morzin, for whom he regularly composed works. According to some sources, he also worked for Count Franz Joseph of the

House of Czernin The House of Czernin ( cs, Černínové z Chudenic; german: Czernin von und zu Chudenitz) is a Czech noble family that was one of the oldest and most prominent noble families in the Kingdom of Bohemia. The family is a descendent family of the ...

. In 1730, at the end of his life, he became an organist at the parish church in the southern Bohemian town of

. He died there less than a month after taking office, aged 35 or 36.

Works

Many of Reichenauer's works have survived in archives and libraries in Bohemia, Silesia, Saxony and Hesse. The existence of his works in various collections outside Prague suggests a popularity outside of his homeland. The library of the monastery in

Osek OSEK (''Offene Systeme und deren Schnittstellen für die Elektronik in Kraftfahrzeugen''; English: "''Open Systems and their Interfaces for the Electronics in Motor Vehicles''") is a standards body that has produced specifications for an embedded o ...

lists a total of 40 works of sacred music by Reichenauer from the years 1720–1733. Reichenauer was known as a prolific composer of church music. His musical output was strongly influenced by the school of

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

, whom he often mentioned in his works. He was the first Bohemian composer of a pastoral mass (his "Missa Pastoralis" in D major was written in around 1720). A series of concertos for violin, oboe, bassoon, and cello, as well as orchestral overtures and trio sonatas are preserved to this day.The Baroque Concerto in Bohemia.
thefreelibrary.com Since the beginning of the 21st century, Reichenauer has begun to appear again in concert programs.

References

Bibliography

Antonín Reichenauer: ''Concerto in G per oboe, due violini, viola e basso'', ritical edition edited and commented by Lukáš M. Vytlačil, Fontes Musicae Bohemiae 1, Togga, Prague 2016. 54 pp (score, facsimile and complete parts).
preface with an example
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reichenauer, Antonin 1694 births 1730 deaths Musicians from Prague Czech Baroque composers Czech male classical composers 18th-century classical composers 18th-century male musicians