Anton Schwarz (composer)

Anton Schwarz (born April 20, 1858 in Kötzting ; † May 27, 1931 in Straubing ) was a German composer and music teacher.

Life

Anton Schwarz was born on April 20, 1858 in Bad Kötzting in a teacher's house. As Anton excelled among the seven children as the particularly musical one, he was sent to Regensburg , where he was accepted as "Domspatz" in the boys' institute of the Alte Kapelle and under Michael Haller received a fundamental musical education in his skills. He later attended the Straubing seminar to take up the profession of teacher. After he had been active in the elementary school service in Dingolfing for twelve years (1877 - 89), he went to the Royal Bavarian Music School in Munich and studied composition and organ under Joseph Rheinberger . After completing his studies, he got a job at the teachers' college in Straubing as a music teacher, initially with the rank of preparation teacher. In 1904 he received the title of royal seminary teacher. He taught harmony, organ and singing at the seminar until he retired in 1923 at the age of 55. He spent his old age in Straubing, where he died on May 27, 1931.

Pedagogical work

Anton Schwarz was an important music teacher to whom hundreds of teachers owe a thorough musical training. For a long time, his former students had vivid memories of their revered teacher, whom they called "Sequenzen-Toni". They praised his perfect pitch, his high level of musicality, but also his original way of teaching. In addition to his school activities, Schwarz worked for several years as a conductor of the Straubinger Liederkranz.

Works

Part of his compositional work was secular choral music. His male, female and mixed choirs were popular with singing. He was also an esteemed church composer. Among other things, he wrote four masses, several offerings, motets and songs. Of the organ works, an organ fugue in D major and "160 original compositions" for the organ op. 23 have been published. His organ accompaniment to the responsories and psalmody was awarded a prize and was still popular for many years after his death. Schwarz's compositions make no small demands on the performers. The style of the sentence is reminiscent of that of his teacher Rheinberger, but he wrote more harshly than this in terms of melody and harmony.

• Mass in honorem St. Antonii de Padua
• Mass in honorem St. Mathildis op.15
• Mass in C major in honorem St. op.17
• Missa pro defunctis (Requiem)
• Ölberlied op.18
• Organ accompaniment to the responsories of the mass, litany etc.
• Organ fugue in D major
• 160 original compositions for the organ op.23
• Songbook for mixed choir for use in high schools

literature

• Josef Behner: Contributions to Straubing Music History , in: Annual report of the Straubing historical association for Straubing and the surrounding area. Straubing 1941, page 113 f.
• Martina Goller: The music in teacher training in Lower Bavaria and its charisma, illustrated by the example of Lower Bavarian teacher composers at the Deggendorf preparatory school and at the Straubing teacher training college . Approval work, Deggendorf, 1988