Franz Xaver Richter (1709-1789) - Te Deum (1781)

Autor: Franz Xaver Richter (1709-1789) Obra: Te Deum (1781) Intèrprets: Mаrkétа Böhmová & PаvIа Rаdostová (sopranos); Czеch Ensemble Baroque Orchestra & Choir; Romаn VáIеk (conductor) Pintura: Louis Jean Desprez (c.1743-1804) - Gustav III bevistar julmässan i Peterskyrkan i Rom, 1783 --- Franz (František) Xaver Richter [Ritter] (Holleschau [now Holešov], 1 December 1709 - Strasbourg, 12 September 1789) Moravian composer, theorist and singer. His earliest education was at the Jesuit school in Uherské Hradištĕ (Ungarisch Hradisch), following which in 1727 he traveled to Italy and Vienna, where he probably received some musical instruction from Johann Joseph Fux. From around 1735 to 1740 he was employed in a variety of small positions, probably in Bavaria or the Tirol before obtaining the post of vice Kapellmeister for Prince-Abbot Anselm von Reichlin-Meldeg in Kempten. Here he composed one of his earliest works, a multi-movement Te Deum and several symphonies for strings, 12 of which were published in two sets in Paris (Grande Symphonies) as some of the earliest popular works in the genre. In 1747 he arrived in Mannheim as a singer (bass), where he performed in various operas and by 1768 had become known both as a teacher and as a composer of chamber music. During this period he often traveled to Paris and was on loan at the court of Oettingen-Wallerstein; his students included Joseph Martin Kraus, as well as most likely Carl Stamitz and Ignaz Fränzl. In 1769 he succeeded Joseph Garnier as Kapellmeister of the cathedral in Strasbourg, where he remained the rest of his life, save for a brief visit to Munich in 1787 to see his old colleagues from Mannheim. Although he was an active composer of sacred music during this time, his duties required him to hire an assistant in 1783, Ignaz Pleyel, who also became his successor following Richter’s death. He was one of the most notable composers of the Classical period and particulary in the instrumental field.