Carl Bonaventura Witzka

Carl Bonaventura Witzka (born November 2, 1768 in Jettingen , † October 31, 1848 in Augsburg ) was a German Catholic clergyman and composer .

Life

Augsburg Cathedral, 1844

Witzka studied theology in Dillingen and worked as a Marian (singer and instrumentalist) and lecturer at Augsburg Cathedral from 1792 . From 1800 he worked as a choir vicar at the St. Moritz Collegiate Foundation and was also the choir regent until 1822. In 1812/13 he took over the direction of the music lovers' concerts in what was then the “ Fürstlich Fugger'schen Concertsaal ”. There were 12 concerts every winter, plus an additional one for the benefit of the poor. In 1822 Witzka succeeded Franz Bühler as cathedral music director. The end of the lovers' concerts came in 1829. In 1830 a larger men's choir "Liederkranz" was formed, in which Catholic clergy and teachers of both denominations formed the solo quartets. In addition to Witzka, the author of the Augsburg Reminiscences, Joseph von Ahorner, sometimes ran this wreath of songs on a temporary basis. At the age of 70, on July 15, 1839, Witzka addressed the royal government of Swabia and Neuburg - Chamber of the Interior - with a repeated request "for dismissal from the cathedral chapel master's position and for continued receipt of his previous allowance". His weakened hearing and old age he led u. a. as the reason for his retirement. On December 7, 1846, he asked the Bishop of Augsburg to increase his pension, which amounted to 606 guilders per year, " so that he could make ends meet ". For comparison, he cited the retirement pension of his predecessor Franz Bühler, who had received 963 guilders until his death. The Reverend Bishop complied with this request and increased Witzka's pension by 50 guilders a year. Carl Bonaventura Witzka died on October 31, 1848 shortly before his 80th birthday. The funeral took place on November 3rd at the Catholic cemetery on Hermanstrasse. A grave plaque set in the cemetery chapel still reminds of him today.

Act

During his almost 49 years of service in the church, Witzka worked 39 years in the "Direction of Church Music". He also performed at the “court concerts at the Churfürstlich Trier'schen Hofe”, which ended with the death of the last prince-bishop of Augsburg, Clemens Wenzeslaus , in 1812, and at numerous concerts as a piano soloist or virtuoso in the hall of the episcopal residence (today's Rococo Hall at the government of Swabia).

Works

Witzka's oeuvre includes numerous fairs, graduals , offertories , litanies and Vespers . The score of a great Vesper Witzkas is still available today as an autograph in the St. Cross Music Archive. He has also left secular music, in particular string quartets, serenades for wind instruments, large orchestral works, cantatas and arias. His printed works were published by Andreas Böhm and Johann Carl Gombart .

literature

• Frank Möller: Civil rule in Augsburg 1790-1880 . Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-486-56387-4 , p. 176 .

Web links

• Entry on Carl Bonaventura Witzka ( memento from March 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) on MUSICA SUEVICA Chor Augsburg e. V.