Franz Joseph Aumann (also ''Auman'', ''Aumon''; 24 February 1728,

Traismauer Traismauer is a municipality in the district of Sankt Pölten-Land in Lower Austria, Austria. It was established by the Romans, probably on a location of prior settlements. Some Roman buildings survive to this day. Population See also *Gemeinl ...

– 30 March 1797,

Sankt Florian Sankt Florian (also ''Florian'' or ''St.Florian'') is a town in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Linz. Sankt Florian is the home of St Florian's Priory, a community of Canons Regular named after Saint Flori ...

) was an Austrian composer. Before his voice broke, he sang in the same Viennese choir as

Michael Haydn Johann Michael Haydn (; 14 September 173710 August 1806) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn. Life Michael Haydn was born in 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohrau, near the Hungarian border. ...

and

Johann Georg Albrechtsberger Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (3 February 1736 – 7 March 1809) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist, and one of the teachers of Ludwig van Beethoven. He was a friend of Haydn and Mozart. Biography Albrechtsberger was born at Kl ...

, composers with whom he later in life traded manuscripts. In view of this circulation, it is not surprising that some of his music has been incorrectly attributed to Haydn. However, his ''Missa Profana,'' satirizing the stuttering and bad singing of a schoolmaster, was once attributed to

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

. Aumann was ordained a priest in the

Augustinian Order Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

in St. Florian in 1757, essentially staying there for the rest of his life. He wrote many

mass setting The Mass ( la, missa) is a Musical form, form of sacred music, sacred musical composition that sets the invariable portions of the Christian Eucharistic liturgy (principally that of the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and Lutheranism), kn ...

s. Aumann's music was a large part of the repertoire at St. Florian in the 19th century, and

Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...

availed himself of this resource for his studies of

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

. Bruckner focused a lot of his attention on Aumann's Christmas

responsories A responsory or respond is a type of chant in western Christian liturgies. Definition The most general definition of a responsory is any psalm, canticle, or other sacred musical work sung responsorially, that is, with a cantor or small group sing ...

and an ''Ave Maria'' in D major. Bruckner, who liked Aumann's coloured harmony, added in 1879 an accompaniment by three trombones to his settings of ''

Ecce quomodo moritur justus The righteous perishes are the words with which the 57th chapter of the Book of Isaiah starts. In Christianity, Isaiah 57:1–2 is associated with the death of Christ, leading to liturgical use of the text at Tenebrae: the 24th responsory for H ...

'' and ''

Tenebrae factae sunt Tenebrae responsories are the responsories sung following the lessons of Tenebrae, the Matins services of the last three days of Holy Week: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Polyphonic settings to replace plainchant have been publis ...

''. Aumann's oeuvre also includes instrumental music, such as some of the earliest

string quintet A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola quintet" ...

s.Eisen Cliff (1998). Madison, Wisconsin, ''Four Viennese String Quintets'', A-R Editions Inc., p. vii

Works, editions and recordings

;Recordings * Gunar Letzbor, ''Franz Joseph Aumann - Requiem'', St. Florianer Sängerknaben,

Ars Antiqua Austria Ars Antiqua Austria is an early music ensemble founded in Linz in 1989 to perform Austrian Baroque music on period instruments. The group was established by Gunar Letzbor and Michael Oman and consists of eight musicians. They research and perform ne ...

. Pan Classics PC 10234, 2008 (with Aumann's ''Ecce quomodo moritur justus'', ''Tenebrae factae sunt'' and ''Te Deum'')

Notes

1728 births 1797 deaths 18th-century Austrian Roman Catholic priests 18th-century classical composers 18th-century Austrian male musicians Austrian classical composers People from Sankt Pölten-Land District Austrian male classical composers {{Austria-composer-stub