Bohuslav Matěj Černohorský (Christened 16 February 1684,

Nymburk Nymburk (; german: Nimburg, Neuenburg an der Elbe) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the Elbe River. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...

, Bohemia – 1 July 1742, Graz,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

composer, organist and teacher of the

baroque era 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 th ...

. He wrote among other works motets, other choral works (a fugue ''Laudetur Jesus Christus'' is cited by the Baroque Music Library as an excellent example of its kind) and organ solo works.

Life

He was a son of a Nymburk

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

named Samuel Černohorský. From 1700 to 1702 he studied philosophy at the Prague university. In 1704 Černohorský became a member of the

Conventual Franciscan The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

; later, in 1708 he was ordained as a priest. Nevertheless, in 1710 Černohorský was expelled from Czech lands for ten years, and he left for Assisi,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. From 1710 to 1715 he worked as an organist in the

Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi The Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi; la, Basilica Sancti Francisci Assisiensis) is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi, a town in the Umbria region in ce ...

, and probably studied counterpoint with

Giuseppe Tartini Giuseppe Tartini (8 April 1692 – 26 February 1770) was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era born in the Republic of Venice. Tartini was a prolific composer, composing over a hundred of pieces for the violin with the majority of ...

. He was called ''"Padre Boemo"'' in Italy. After the expiration of his punishment, he came back to Prague, where he devoted himself to teaching. Among the important pupils of the "Černohorský school" are Josef Seger,

František Tůma František Ignác Antonín Tůma (2 October 1704, in Kostelec nad Orlicí, Bohemia – 3 February 1774, in Vienna) was a Czech composer of the Baroque era. He lived the greater part of his life in Vienna, first as director of music for Franz J ...

and others. In 1731 he came to Italy again, and worked as an organist in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. Černohorský died in Graz in 1742. He is an ancestor of Canadian composer Peter Černohorský. According to the biography at Arta.cz below, he officiated at the wedding of his colleague Šimon Brixi, father of

František Xaver Brixi František () is a masculine given name of Czech origin. It is a cognate of Francis, Francisco, François, and Franz. People with the name include: *Frank Daniel (František Daniel) (1926–1996), Czech film director, producer, and screenwrite ...

Style

Černohorský was an important representative of the late baroque style. He composed fugues and

toccata Toccata (from Italian ''toccare'', literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtu ...

s for organ, as well as vocal works. He deeply influenced the musical evolution in Czech as a composer, as well as a teacher.

Selected works

*''Vesperae Minus Solemnes'' (1702–1710) for choir, two violins and organ *''Regina Coeli'' (1712), antifone for double choir *''Laudetur Jesus Christus'' (1729) for soprano, alt, tenor, bass, strings and organ *''Precatus est Moyses'' *''Quare Domine Irasceris'' both for soprano, alt, tenor, bass, two violins, viola, three trumpets and organ

References

External links

* Brief biographyat Allmusic.com * Works for organ. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cernohorsky, Bohuslav Matej 1684 births 1742 deaths 18th-century Bohemian musicians 18th-century classical composers 18th-century keyboardists 18th-century male musicians Czech Baroque composers Czech classical musicians Czech classical organists Czech expatriates in Italy Czech male classical composers Czech Roman Catholic priests Franciscans Male classical organists People from Nymburk