Christian Gregor (January 1, 1723 – November 6, 1801) was a Moravian composer and bishop. Gregor was born to a peasant family living in the

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

n village of Dirsdorf, near Peilau and became a member of the

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

when he was seventeen. He moved to

Herrnhut Herrnhut (; ; ; Upper Lusatian: ''Harrnhutt'', ''Harrnutt'') is a town of around 6,000 inhabitants in Upper Lusatia, in the district of Görlitz, in eastern Saxony, Germany. The town is mainly known as the place of origin of the community of t ...

, Germany in 1742, where he soon became organist and director of congregational music. He later served similar roles in Herrnhaag (1748) and

Zeist Zeist () is the Capital city, capital and largest town of the Zeist (municipality), municipality of Zeist. The town is located in the Utrecht (province), Utrecht province of the Netherlands, east of the city of Utrecht. History The town of " ...

(1749). He was ordained a Deacon in 1756, and was appointed to several administrative posts within the Moravian Church during which time he traveled extensively: Riga (1744) where he met

Nicolaus Zinzendorf Nikolaus Ludwig, Reichsgraf Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly (Imperial immediacy, immediat ...

, North America (1770–1772), and a trip to Old Sarepta, Russia (1774) by way of Estonia, Latvia, and St. Petersburg. He was consecrated a bishop in 1789. A translation into English of his Lebenslauf (autobiography) was completed in the 1960s. Gregor is credited with the Moravian liturgical development of the late 18th century and the introduction of concerted anthems into worship services. Gregor edited the 1779 hymnal and the 1784 chorale bookJames Boeringer, editor, Choral-Buch by Christian Gregor, a Facsimile of the First Edition of 1784. Introduction by Martha Asti. Translation of the Author's Preface by Karl Kroeger (Winston-Salem, NC & Bethlehem, PA: Moravian Music Foundation Press, 1984). of the Unitas Fratrum. He composed several hundred musical works of which the majority are preserved in collections of the Moravian archives in Herrnhut, Germany, Christiansfeld, Denmark, and Moravian Music Foundation in the United States, as well as the University of Warsaw. He died in Berthelsdorf, near Herrnhut, on November 6, 1801.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregor, Christian 1723 births 1801 deaths People from Dzierżoniów County German male composers German composers People from the Habsburg monarchy