Composer. One of the lesser Baroque masters, he was strongly influenced by High Renaissance music, and his compositions are marked by an unusual harmonic sense that make them difficult to date. Born in Loudovice, Bohemia (now Lounovice pod Blanikem, Czech Republic), the son of an organist, he was a virtuoso doublebass player, and joined the Royal Court Orchestra of Dresden in 1710. From 1715 to 1719 he studied in Vienna with composer Johann Fux and possibly with Scarlatti in Italy before returning permanently to Dresden. The high point of his career was writing and conducting music for the Prague coronation of Emperor Charles VI as King of Bohemia in 1723. For a decade Zelenka ably assisted Dresden's Kapellmeister Johann David Heinichen, but was passed over for the post when Heinichen died in 1729; he settled for the lesser title of Royal Church Composer. He never married. His grave was unmarked until after World War II. Since the 1980s Zelenka's works have enjoyed a considerable international revival. They include 23 Masses, four Requiems, three oratorios, 53 Psalm settings and some two dozen instrumental pieces, among them six trio sonatas.
Composer. One of the lesser Baroque masters, he was strongly influenced by High Renaissance music, and his compositions are marked by an unusual harmonic sense that make them difficult to date. Born in Loudovice, Bohemia (now Lounovice pod Blanikem, Czech Republic), the son of an organist, he was a virtuoso doublebass player, and joined the Royal Court Orchestra of Dresden in 1710. From 1715 to 1719 he studied in Vienna with composer Johann Fux and possibly with Scarlatti in Italy before returning permanently to Dresden. The high point of his career was writing and conducting music for the Prague coronation of Emperor Charles VI as King of Bohemia in 1723. For a decade Zelenka ably assisted Dresden's Kapellmeister Johann David Heinichen, but was passed over for the post when Heinichen died in 1729; he settled for the lesser title of Royal Church Composer. He never married. His grave was unmarked until after World War II. Since the 1980s Zelenka's works have enjoyed a considerable international revival. They include 23 Masses, four Requiems, three oratorios, 53 Psalm settings and some two dozen instrumental pieces, among them six trio sonatas.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
Advertisement
See more Zelenka memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
