Biography
Isfrid Kayser , originally Laurentius Antonius Kayser (born March 13, 1712 in Türkheim an der Wertach; died March 1, 1771 in Marchtal Monastery) was a German composer, organist and member of the Premonstratensian Order in the transition period from the Baroque to the Classical period.
Isfrid Kayser was the son of the village organist and schoolmaster Franciscus Kayser and his wife Anna from Türkheim and received his first musical instruction from his father. He went to school in the Jesuit Gymnasium in Munich and later entered the Premonstratensian Abbey of Obermarchtal as a novice ; Here he made his profession on May 25, 1732 and celebrated his primiz (first official act as a priest ) on May 19, 1737 . The Marchtal monastery was one of a group of Swabian monasteries, mainly Premonstratensian and Benedictine , in which music cultivation was particularly important in the 18th century; From the autumn of 1737 there is written evidence of Isfrid Kayser's 15-year creative period. He soon had the reputation of a Caesar among the "Phonascos" of Swabia . In 1741 he was appointed director of music in the said monastery and held this office for about ten years. From about 1750 he worked as parish priest for the surrounding villages, namely for Obermarchtal 1741-1743, Sauggart 1750 and 1761, Seekirch 1754-1758 and Kirchbierlingen 1758. In 1761 he returned to Marchtal and became subprior there in 1763 . There is also evidence of temporary activity as a chaplainand Kooperator , at least in the years 1764–69, in the town of Munderkingen (today Alb-Donau-Kreis ). In the spring of 1771, Kayser died in the Marchtal monastery.
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In his great creative phase from 1737 to 1752, Kayser wrote a series of musico-dramatic pieces for the school theater of the Augustinian Canons »zu den Wengen« in Ulm , which were extremely topical in terms of contemporary history; the texts came mostly from the Premonstratensian member Gregor Trautwein (1711-1785). Music historians assume that he lived as a guest in the Wengen monastery in Ulm for a certain time and was also in contact with the cathedral organist Conrad Michael Schneider . Kayser made music-dramatic contributions for the Jesuit College in Augsburg in 1737, the Premonstratensian Reichsstift Rot an der Rot in 1743 and 1746Congregatio Latina Major of the Munich Jesuit College in 1747, namely for their scenically designed fasting meditations, also for the Jesuit stage in Dillingen , for the theater of the city of Biberach in 1755 and for the local monastery theater in Marchtal. Here, life on the stage was shaped primarily by Kayser's musically gifted poet and fellow brother Sebastian Sailer .
When Marie-Antoinette and her entourage stayed in the Reichsstift Rot from May 1 to 2, 1770 on their bridal journey from Vienna to Paris , the display of splendor reached a high point; Here Sailer's poem "Best sentiments of Swabian hearts" was performed as a cantata . Isfrid Kayser's part in this composition is just as unclear as his part in the many other singspiels that were performed in Marchtal at the time. After secularization in 1806, the entire monastery property with all music, including the periods of the Singspiele, went to the princely house of Thurn and Taxis .
Isfrid Kayser's brothers, namely Norbert (1708-1765), Balthasar (* 1710) and Konrad (1714-1769) were also members of the Premonstratensian and Benedictine orders and participated in many of Isfrid's activities.
Isfrid Kayser occupies an outstanding position among the various sound creators of the south-west German Catholic cultural area. The French-influenced Premonstratensian monasteries in Marchtal, Rot an der Rot and Schussenried , as well as the Benedictine monastery in Zwiefalten , exerted a lasting influence on the history of Isfrid Kayser's family with their cultural impact on the towns and rural communities in Upper Swabia and at that time in Lower Austria . His high-quality body of church music is largely based on the example of the Benedictines Valentin Rathgeber and Marianus Königsperger ; whose works were published by the Augsburg publisher Lotterconveyed. Kayser follows up directly on those mentioned with his Opus 2 »Methodo facili, et moderna elaboratae«. Königsperger places Kayser in a row with Franz Xaver Brixi and Jan Zach , whose works he wishes “all immortality”.
More than Zach, Kayser preferred consistent melodic consistency. With this he achieved stylistic homogeneity and formal unity, especially in the orchestral figures of his Vespers movements . If Rathgeber focuses on facilitas , brevitas and soavitas (ease of execution, brevity and euphony), Kayser's church music is characterized by gravitas (great weight). In his three harpsichord parts , Kayser takes up rhythmic suggestions from Conrad Michael Schneider, for example the 5/8 time in the passepiedhis Parthia I. According to music historians, these Parthia could just as well have “ matured under the sun of François Couperin ”.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.