Karl Proske
Encyclopedia
Karl Proske was a German
Catholic
cleric, also known as Carolus Proske and Carl Proske. In his youth, Proske was a medical doctor
, and worked for the Prussian
military during the 1813-15 engagement. In 1821 he entered the seminary
, and was ordained in Regensburg
on April 11, 1826. The following year, he was made a vicar choral of Regensburg Cathedral.
Proske was never to leave this post at Regensburg, and, in addition to his duties as a cleric, devoted all his energies and spent his entire private income on the restoration of what he called "vere musica ecclesiae," the "true music of the Church." This he considered to be the ancient Gregorian chant
and especially the polyphonic
works of the Renaissance
masters (such as Palestrina
, Nanini
, Marenzio
, Lassus, etc.). He searched all throughout Germany
and Italy
, making many trips to Rome
, in order to collect ancient manuscript
s for his library, which grew to contain thousands of samples (Karl Weinmann, a late 19th century music researcher, claimed there were over 30,000 pages of manuscripts before Proske died). Proske was a pioneer in the field, and the fact that his editions reflected only the German
, Flemish
, and Italian
repertoires - excluding Spaniards for the most part, though he did include Victoria
- does not diminish his amazing contributions to Sacred music.
In 1830 he was made Canon
and Kapellmeister
of Regensburg cathedral. Despite these new duties, Proske continued to spend hours transcribing and arranging ancient polyphony, and rounded up the greatest singers in his city in order to have them sight-sing his newly copied manuscript to check for part-writing errors. In 1853 Proske initiated the publication of his invaluable "Musica Divina", the fourth volume of which appeared in 1862 (finished by such prominent students as Franz Xaver Haberl
). This was followed by a "Selectus Novus Missarum", in two volumes (1857–61).
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
cleric, also known as Carolus Proske and Carl Proske. In his youth, Proske was a medical doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, and worked for the Prussian
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
military during the 1813-15 engagement. In 1821 he entered the seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
, and was ordained in Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
on April 11, 1826. The following year, he was made a vicar choral of Regensburg Cathedral.
Proske was never to leave this post at Regensburg, and, in addition to his duties as a cleric, devoted all his energies and spent his entire private income on the restoration of what he called "vere musica ecclesiae," the "true music of the Church." This he considered to be the ancient Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
and especially the polyphonic
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
works of the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
masters (such as Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
, Nanini
Giovanni Maria Nanino
Giovanni Maria Nanino was an Italian composer and teacher of the late Renaissance. He was a member of the Roman School of composers, and was the most influential music teacher in Rome in the late 16th century...
, Marenzio
Luca Marenzio
Luca Marenzio was an Italian composer and singer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the most renowned composers of madrigals, and wrote some of the most famous examples of the form in its late stage of development, prior to its early Baroque transformation by Monteverdi...
, Lassus, etc.). He searched all throughout Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, making many trips to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, in order to collect ancient manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
s for his library, which grew to contain thousands of samples (Karl Weinmann, a late 19th century music researcher, claimed there were over 30,000 pages of manuscripts before Proske died). Proske was a pioneer in the field, and the fact that his editions reflected only the German
Music of Germany
Forms of German-language music include Neue Deutsche Welle , Krautrock, Hamburger Schule, Volksmusik, Classical, German hip hop, trance, Schlager, Neue Deutsche Härte and diverse varieties of folk music, such as Waltz and Medieval metal....
, Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, and Italian
Music of Italy
The music of Italy ranges across a broad spectrum of opera and instrumental classical music and a body of popular music drawn from both native and imported sources. Music has traditionally been one of the cultural markers of Italian national and ethnic identity and holds an important position in...
repertoires - excluding Spaniards for the most part, though he did include Victoria
Tomás Luis de Victoria
Tomás Luis de Victoria, sometimes Italianised as da Vittoria , was the most famous composer of the 16th century in Spain, and one of the most important composers of the Counter-Reformation, along with Giovanni da Palestrina and Orlando di Lasso. Victoria was not only a composer, but also an...
- does not diminish his amazing contributions to Sacred music.
In 1830 he was made Canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
and Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
of Regensburg cathedral. Despite these new duties, Proske continued to spend hours transcribing and arranging ancient polyphony, and rounded up the greatest singers in his city in order to have them sight-sing his newly copied manuscript to check for part-writing errors. In 1853 Proske initiated the publication of his invaluable "Musica Divina", the fourth volume of which appeared in 1862 (finished by such prominent students as Franz Xaver Haberl
Franz Xaver Haberl
Franz Xaver Haberl was a German musicologist, friend of Liszt, Perosi, and Singenberger, cleric, and student of Proske....
). This was followed by a "Selectus Novus Missarum", in two volumes (1857–61).
External links
- Carl Proske (1794-1861) Proske's Musica Divina
- Catholic Encyclopedia article