Pavel Krížkovský
Encyclopedia
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
.
Křížkovský was born in Kreuzendorf
Holasovice
Holasovice is a village in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has around 1,370 inhabitants and lies 10 km north-west of Opava.-External links:*...
, Opava District
Opava District
Opava District is a district within Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is Opava.- Complete list of municipalities :Bělá -Bohuslavice -Bolatice -Branka u Opavy -Bratříkovice -Brumovice -Březová -...
, Austrian Silesia
Austrian Silesia
Austrian Silesia , officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia was an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Empire, from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
. He was a chorister in a monastery in Opava
Opava
Opava is a city in the northern Czech Republic on the river Opava, located to the north-west of Ostrava. The historical capital of Czech Silesia, Opava is now in the Moravian-Silesian Region and has a population of 59,843 as of January 1, 2005....
when young, and studied at the Faculty of Philosophy of University of Olomouc and later in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
. The pallace, in which Křižkovský lived in years 1878-1883, is now used as the Palacký University of Olomouc Rectory. He became an Augustinian friar in 1845, entering the St. Thomas's Abbey
St Thomas's Abbey, Brno
St Thomas's Abbey in Brno a big austrian church]] located in the Czech Republic. The geneticist and Abbot Gregor Mendel was its most famous religious leader to date, and between 1856 and 1863 conducted his experiments on pea plants in the monastery garden...
, and was named choirmaster there in 1848. He founded two choral societies in Brno, and gave choral and chamber music concerts there regularly. Among his choral students was Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janácek
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
. Křížkovský was a dedicated Slavic culturalist, and often gave performances of lesser-known Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
n and Czech composers before withdrawing from secular musicianship in the 1870s as a result of the Cecilian movement
Cecilian Movement
The Cecilian Movement of church reform was centered in Italy but received great impetus from Regensburg, Germany, where Franz Xaver Haberl had a world-renowned Kirchenmusicschule...
. Following this he became choir director at a cathedral in Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
, and retired in 1877. He died in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
.
Most of Křížkovský's compositional output consists of choral settings of folk songs and sacred vocal music. His best known work is the cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
Sts. Cyril and Methodius.