David Funck (1648 – 1699?) was a Czech or German music composer, educator, and performer on several instruments, including

violas da gamba The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bowed, fretted, and ...

, violin, guitar, and

clavichord The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance music, Renaissance, Baroque music, Baroque and Classical period (music), Classical eras. Historically, it was most ...

. In addition to his work in the field of music, in both ecclesiastic and secular positions, Funck also served as secretary to Princess Eleonore of Schleswig-Holstein.

Life

David Funck was born at Sankt Joachimsthal in 1648. While the town is situated in a predominantly German part of the modern

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, Funck considered himself Czech, and referred to himself as "Bohemian". He was accepted into the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

, where he studied music, poetry, and law. After university, he was employed by Princess Eleonore as her personal secretary. Scandals seem to have erupted wherever Funck was employed after he left the royal family's employ. Funck was then hired as music composition instructor and choirmaster at Reichenbach. His next position was as organist in the village of

Wunsiedel (; Northern Bavarian: ''Wåuṉsieḏl'' or ''Wousigl'') is the seat of the Upper Franconian district of in northeast Bavaria, Germany. The town is the birthplace of poet Jean Paul. It also became known for its annual Festival and the Rudolf ...

in modern-day

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. In 1694, he accepted yet another organist/educator position in

Ilmenau Ilmenau () is a town in Thuringia, central Germany. It is the largest town within the Ilm district with a population of 38,600, while the district capital is Arnstadt. Ilmenau is located approximately south of Erfurt and north of Nuremberg w ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

. Accusations of sodomy in 1699 forced him to flee with the clothes on his back. His frozen body was discovered later that winter (1699 or 1700) on the road to

Arnstadt Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera (river), Gera about south of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Arnstadt is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia, and has a well-preserved historic centre with a partially ...

Works

Funck was highly regarded by contemporaries for his performance abilities on violin and keyboards, though he is best-remembered for his compositions for consort of violas da gamba in a collection entitled ''Stricturæ Viola-di Gambicæ''. He also composed a Passion which was admired by contemporaries but is now lost.

References

* ''Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', 2nd edn., ed.

Ludwig Finscher Ludwig Finscher (14 March 193030 June 2020) was a German musicologist. He was a professor of music history at the University of Heidelberg from 1981 to 1995 and editor of the encyclopedia '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart''. He is respect ...

Bärenreiter Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it ...

, Kassel: 1999–2008. * ''Stricturæ Viola-di Gambicæ - David Funck'', Rebekah Ahrendt, Zoe Weiss, Jane Leggiero, Kivie Cahn-Lipman, & Dylan Sauerwald, New Focus Recordings, New York: 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Funck, David 1648 births People from Jáchymov 17th-century classical composers 17th-century German musicians Year of death unknown 17th-century German composers