Adam Václav Michna z Otradovic

Adam Václav Michna z Otradovic (* 1600 in Jindřichův Hradec (Neuhaus ); † November 2, 1676 ) was a Czech organist and composer of church music.

Life and work

Adam Václav Michna received his first music lessons from his father Michal Michna, city organist and trumpeter lock in the residence town of Neuhaus in Bohemia. He studied at the Jesuit high school of his native town, where he, alongside his work as organist also ran a tavern from 1645. Michna is considered the first representative of an independent Czech style in the early Baroque Music in Bohemia. He was influenced by the mysticism of Saint Teresa of Ávila but also by the local popular piety. With its ingenious and versatile creative compositions Michna is comparable to the works of the German composer Heinrich Schütz for the Czech music history.

Works

Michna published two hymnals: Česká muzika mariánská ( 1647) and Svatoročnì muzika (1661 ), the four - to five-part songs included in homophonic sentence. Another collection Loutna česká (1653) is preserved in fragments. He composed five masses, two litanies and a Te Deum " Sacre et Litaniae " ( Prague 1654). When handwriting a Magnificat and Missa Sancti Venceslai have survived. In this alternate strict polyphonic parts from the old style as the Kyrie and the Agnus Dei with homophonic parts and concertante solo parts in the Gloria and Credo.