Josef Antonín Sehling (also Seeling, Seling, Sölling; 7 January 1710 – 19 September 1756) was a

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists * List of contemporary classical violinists * List of jazz violinists * List of popular music violinists * List of Indian violinists * List of Persian violinists * Li ...

of the baroque period.

Life

Sehling was born in

Toužim Toužim (; ) is a town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,500 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as urban monument zone. Administrative division ...

(German: Teusing), Western Bohemia. From an early age, he received music lessons from the local cantor, and later completed his education in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. From 1737, he was second violinist in the Orchestra of St. Vitus Cathedral, and around the same time, he worked as a court musician and composer for Count Morzin at his palace in Prague. In 1740, he became choir director at the Church of Our Lady beneath the Chain in the

Malá Strana Malá Strana ( Czech for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or historically Menší Město pražské () is a district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, and one of its most historic neighbourhoods. In the Middle Ages, it was a dominant center o ...

district of Prague, and at the same time filled in as the choir director at St. Vitus and the Barnabite St. Benedictus. Sehling was a very prolific composer of sacred music, namely

aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

s, masses,

requiems A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass (liturgy), Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the Soul (spirit), souls of the deceased, using a particular fo ...

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

s and offertoria. Manuscript copies of his works are scattered throughout libraries, among others, in

Nymburk Nymburk (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the Elbe River. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Mo ...

Roudnice nad Labem Roudnice nad Labem (; ) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural monument (Czech Rep ...

Broumov Broumov (; ) is a town in Náchod District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,100 inhabitants. There are three important historic buildings, protected as national cultural monuments: the Benedictine monastery, the ...

, St. Vitus Cathedral, and in the monastery of the elizabethans. He was possibly associated with

Christoph Willibald Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of th ...

. Among his pupils were the

sopranist A sopranist (also known as male soprano) is a male singer who is able to sing in vocal tessitura of a soprano, usually through falsetto or head voice technique. This voice type is a specific kind of countertenor. In rare cases an adult man may b ...

Johann Christian Preissler from Polevsko and the

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

Johann Oelschlegel (1724–1788), choir rector in Strahov Monastery, organ builder and composer.

Compositions (selection)

*Oratorium ''Filius prodigus'', 1739 *''Judith'', a coronation opera in celebration of the coronation Maria Theresia as queen of Bohemia, 1743 *''Constantinus'', 1751 *Missa Bella premunt hostilia *Missa De robur for auxilium

References

*Josef Weinmann: ''Egerländer Biografisches Lexikon mit ausgewählten Personen aus dem ehemaligen Reg.-Bezirk Eger''. Band 2, Druckhaus Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Männedorf/ZH 1987, , S. 190 *''Der Egerländer'' September 1981 *''Heimatbrief für die Kreise Plan-Weseritz und Tepl-Petschau.'' 1985/86 *

Constantin von Wurzbach Constantin Wurzbach Ritter von Tannenberg (11 April 1818 – 17 August 1893) was an Austrian biographer, lexicographer and author. Biography He was born in Laibach, Carniola (present-day Ljubljana, Slovenia).He later went on to complete a cou ...

: ''Sehling, Joseph Anton.'' In: ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich.'' 33. Theil. Kaiserlich-königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1877, S. 322 f.
Digitisation
. *Milada Jonášová: Italské operní árie v repertoáru kůru katedrály sv. Víta v Praze. Sehlingova éra 1737-1756. In Hudební věda 38, n. 3-4/2000, Academia, Praha 2001, pp. 263-301. *Milada Jonášová: Italienische Opernarien im Dom zu St. Veit in Prag. In: Norbert Dubowy – Herbert Seiffert – Andrea Sommer-Mathis – Reinhard Strohm (eds.), Italian Opera in Central Europe 1614–1780, Berlin 2008, pp. 163–206. *Václav Kapsa: Hudebníci hraběte Morzina. K dějinám šlechtických kapel v Čechách v době baroka. Etnologický ústav AV ČR, Praha 2010. *Milada Jonášová, Judith – ein Jesuitendrama zur Krönung Maria Theresias 1743 in Prag, in: Petronilla Cemus (ed.), Bohemia Jesuitica 1556–2006, Praha 2010, p. 1041–1051. *Josef Sehling. Christmas in Prague Cathedral, Collegium Marianum. Jana Semerádová, Supraphon 2014. *Milada Jonášová (ed.): Joseph Anton Sehling, Latinské pastorely / Latin pastorellas / Lateinische Pastorellen, Praha 2017.

External links

*Biography of Josef Antonín Sehling a

(Czech) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sehling, Josef Antonin 1710 births 1756 deaths People from Toužim Czech violinists Czech male classical violinists Czech male classical composers Classical-period composers from Bohemia Czech classical violinists 18th-century classical composers from Bohemia 18th-century male musicians from Bohemia 18th-century composers from the Holy Roman Empire