Josef Seger

Josef Seger (born "Josef Ferdinand Norbert Seger", last name also "Seeger" or "Seegr") (21 March, 1716 in Repín, Bohemia - April 22, 1782 in Prague) was a Bohemian composer and one of the most important representatives of the Czech school.

A pupil of Bohuslav Cernohorsky, Seger worked as a singer and violinist for various Prague churches. In 1741 he became the organist to the Church of Our Lady in front of Týn and in 1745 at the Church of the Knights of the Cross. His most important pupils were Jan Koželuh and Josef Mysliveček. In 1781, he applied for the post of court organist in Vienna, but died before taking up the job.

Seger was an extremely prolific composer. He wrote several hundred organ works (Preludes, Toccatas and Fugues), Masses, Motets, Psalms and Prayers. His pieces, like those of many Baroque composers, lost popularity during the Classical and Romantic periods, but were readily rediscovered and absorbed in the early 20th century; several of them (usually displaying a conservative, Bach-influenced contrapuntal style) have been recorded on LP and compact disc.

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