Franciszek Salezy Błażej Wincenty Ścigalski (29 January 1782 – 27 August or 27 September 1846) was a Polish composer, violinist and conductor.

Life

Ścigalski was born on 29 January 1782 in

Grodzisk Wielkopolski Grodzisk Wielkopolski is a town in western Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship (Wielkopolskie), with a population of 13,703 (2006). It is south-west of Poznań, the voivodeship capital. It is the seat of Grodzisk Wielkopolski County, and also o ...

. His father was a musician from Lwówka, an official in Grodzisk and director of the band. He studied at the Obra, where there was a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery and where his uncle was a copyist. Later he attended the Mary Magdalene high school in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

where one of the music teachers was A. Braun, conductor of the school band. He taught singing and led vocal and instrumental ensembles in his high school and taught the violin. He was a member of a string quartet founded by Fr. Anthony H. Radziwill. The tradition of music in his family was continued by his son Titus Arkadiusz and his half-brother Joseph was an organist in Grodzisk Wielkopolski. He died on 27 August or 27 September in 1846 in

Gniezno Gniezno (; ; ) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The city is the administrative seat of Gniezno County (''powiat'') ...

.Elżbieta Dziębowska (red.): Encyklopedia muzyczna PWM. PWM, 1979-2012, s. t.Andrzej Chodkowski (red.): Encyklopedia muzyki. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1995, p. 882. .BBC Website for Franciszek Ścigalski. https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/18d87368-9229-4e3e-a616-f869d8827402

Career

In 1821 he became conductor of the cathedral and held this position until 1825. In 1825 he returned to teaching in high school. On 1 June 1834 he moved to Gniezno where he took over the conducting band of the cathedral and the position of first violinist (virtuoso). During his work in Gniezno he introduced the latest music repertoire and enriched it with his own compositions and arrangements. He was also the librarian and expanded the collections. He founded the Kkapitularnej music school.

Works

Ścigalski's compositions are preserved in the archives of the Pauline monastery in

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

and collections coming from Grodzisk Wielkopolski, as well as archdiocesan archives in Poznań and Gniezno, Kornik Library and monasteries in Obra, Gostyn and Poznan parish. Among them are: * ''Missa Solemnis in G'' * ''Missa in B'' * ''Missa in Es'' * ''Polonaise'' * ''Salve Regina'' * ''Symphony in D major'' * ''Te Deum laudamus'' * ''Ex litany D'' * ''Veni Creator''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scigalski, Franciszek 1782 births 1846 deaths People from Grodzisk Wielkopolski Polish classical composers Polish male classical composers 19th-century Polish classical composers 19th-century male musicians