Johann Anton Losy of Losinthal

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Johann Anton Count Losy von Losinthal or Jan Antonín Losy , also Logi von Losymthal or Losynthal or Jan Antonín Logy z Lozimtálu (* around 1645 , probably at Štěkeň Castle near Strakonitz / Bohemia ; † September 3, 1721 in Prague ) was an imperial official , Composer and one of the most famous lutenists and guitarists of his generation.

Origin and life

Johann Anton Losy's ancestors probably came from the Poschiavo area in the Swiss canton of Graubünden . His father Jan Anton Losy von Losinthal settled in the imperial service in Bohemia at the beginning of the 17th century and on August 14, 1655 was elevated to the rank of count due to his services as "inspector of the wine tax and the beer and salt gradient in Bohemia". 1661–1668, the son, who was born between 1643 and 1647 and was often called "Count Losy", studied music at the Prague Conservatory , became an Imperial Chamberlain and Privy Councilor like his father , was also music director at the Viennese court and earned a high reputation for his lute playing as well as for stimulating and promoting musical life. He was co-owner of the manors of Tachau, Winternitz and Steinitz, lived in Prague in a palace that Carlo Lurago had built for him from three houses on the north side of Hybernergasse, with an annual income of 80,000  florins entirely for his music.

Johann Anton the Younger inherited important assets from his father in 1682 and traveled to Italy and France. One year after his father's death, his twin brother Johann Baptist, resident at Stecken, Rzepicz and Czenicz, also died unmarried. In 1697 he stayed in Leipzig , where a famous contest between him on the lute, Johann Kuhnau on the piano and Pantaleon Hebenstreit on the Pantaleon named after him took place and increased his fame.

Losy von Losinthal was a great admirer of Jean-Baptiste Lully and wrote mainly lute and guitar compositions in dignified melodies, initially in his "French style", which he brought to Prague and developed into the so-called "mixed German style". The more cantable elements of the Italian and the more rhetorical of the French style merge. His compositions for guitar are marked for a strong use of the " rasgado playing manner ". In the evenings in his palace in Prague pieces from the printed operas and compositions of Jean-Baptiste Lully and Johann Joseph Fux were performed. He was married to Franziska Claudia Countess von Strassoldo. After his death in 1721 his son Adam Philipp Losy of Losinthal took over the inheritance. In memory of Count Losy von Losinthal, Silvius Leopold Weiss composed the Tombeau Sur La Mor De M. Comte De Logy .

Works

Around 150 compositions or lute and guitar tablatures from his pen have survived, including:

  • Suite II in A minor
  • Suite III in A minor (from it as a MIDI file: 2nd movement [1] ; 2 kB)
  • Suite IV in F major
  • Suite V in D minor
  • Suite VI in C major
  • Suite VII in A minor
  • Suite VIII in A major
  • Suite IX in A minor
  • Rondeau (as MIDI file: [2] ; 6 kB)

Literature on the history of music

  • Johann Anton Graf Losy: 19 Pieces for Lute. edited by Tim Crawford, Tree Edition, Lübeck 2002
  • Johann Anton Losy von Losymthal: Pieces for Baroque Lute: from the manuscript MS S-Klm21072, foreword by Michael Treder, Tree Edition, Lübeck 2012
  • Jaroslav Pohanka: Jan Antonín Losy: Pièces de guitare . In: Musica antiqua bohemica 38, no.13 , ZDB -ID 1100186-0 , p. 11.
  • Emil Vogl: Johann Anton Losy. Lutenist of Prague . In: Journal of the Lute Society of America 13, 1980, ISSN  0076-1524 , pp. 58-86.
  • Emil Vogl: The lute music of Johann Anton Losy . In: Journal of the Lute Society of America 14, 1981, pp. 5-58, and Thematic Catalog, p. 79.
  • Tim Crawford: New Sources of the Music of Count Losy . In: Journal of the Lute Society of America 15, 1982, pp. 52-83.

Life history literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ MGG Online .
  2. ↑ Hubert Zanoskar (ed.): Guitar playing of old masters. Original music from the 16th and 17th centuries. Volume 1. B. Schott's Sons, Mainz 1955 (= Edition Schott. Volume 4620), pp. 11 and 24.
  3. ↑ Frederick Noad: The Frederick Noad Guitar Anthology. 4 volumes. Ariel Publications, New York 1974; Reprints (with CD): Amsco Publications, New York / London / Sydney 1992 and 2002, UK ISBN 0-7119-0958-X , US ISBN 0-8256-9950-9 ; here: Volume 2: The Baroque Guitar. New edition: Hal Leonard, Milwaukee, ISBN 978-0-8256-1811-6 , pp. 124-127.
personal data
SURNAME Losy from Losinthal, Johann Anton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Logi from Lozimtál
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bohemian composer and lutenist
DATE OF BIRTH around 1645
PLACE OF BIRTH Štěkeň
DATE OF DEATH September 3, 1721
Place of death Prague