Jan Zach

As a violinist and an organist this Czech composer served in Prague and Augsburg. In Prague Zach was a violinist at St. Gallus and St. Martin and later served as an organist for St. Martin. He became the Kapellmeister in Augsburg for the Prince-Elector of Mainz in 1745. One of Zach's masses was performed at the coronation of the Emperor Franz I. He traveled for a brief period in Italy the influence of which appears in his music particularly the instrumental sinfonias and concertos which were set in three movements employing parallel sixths and thirds, Alberti bass, and occasionally heavy ornamentation. For various conflicts in personality Zach was dismissed in 1756. From that time until the end of his life he traveled, performed, sold copies of his music and taught. The exceptional range in his music is probably indicative of his own complicated personality. Resulting musical compositions range from the melancholy to the vital. Zach wrote instrumental and sacred compositions which included characteristics of Czech dance rhythms, homophony, and polyphony. The "Requiem in C minor" employed considerable use of chromaticism. Zach's instrumental sinfonias and concertos were often scored for strings and wind instruments alike in which he set the works with the aforementioned Italian characteristics.
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