Josef Seger

Joseph Ferdinand Norbert Seger, further versions Seeger, Czegrt, Seegert, Séger, Segr, Zegert, was undoubtedly one of the most significant organists, composers and pedagogues of the Czech High Baroque era.

A register entry in the village of Řepín near Mělník, confirms that he was christened on 21st March, 1716. Seger may have received his basic music education at the local elementary school, or at the church where the Jesuit Jiří Karas held the position of parish administrator from 1711. Karas may have helped Seger to enter the Prague Jesuit Grammar school where – according to Dlabač’s lexicon1 – Seger studied. Furthermore, Dlabač mentions Seger’s participation as an alto in an opera performance at the Jesuit College in the Clementinum, Prague in 1729. The same source also contains the information that Seger studied under Bohuslav Matěj Černohorský at the Minorite Monastery of St. James in Prague, where Seger performed as a chorister. At the same time he attended lectures in philosophy at Prague University and received his master’s degree there.

Besides being an organist, Josef Seger was also a skilled violinist. At the Church of St. Martin in the Wall in Prague he was first appointed violinist, and later on also second organist. Similarly, he held the position of first violinist at the Church of Our Lady before Tyn between 1735 and 1741 until he was – as early as 1741 – appointed organist, remaining in this position until his death forty-one years later. From the year 1745 on he was simultaneously an organist at the Church of St. Francis Seraphicus near Charles Bridge, which belonged to the Order of the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star. Charles Burney, an English historian and organist, left us a relevant and valuable report2 on his journey from Vienna to Dresden, during which he passed through Prague in 1772. Burney sought out Seger on the recommendation of the Viennese court Kapellmeister Florian Leopold Gassmann, who had referred to Seger as ”the best organist in town”. In his report, Burney described Seger as a very well-educated man who spoke several foreign languages and whose knowledge in the field of European music was immense.

Seger focused mainly on church music, and took special interest in organ compositions. He was also a recognized and sought-after pedagogue; among his numerous students can be found the names of many significant Czech composers and organists, such as Josef Mysliveček, Karel Blažej Kopřiva, Jan Evangelista Koželuh, Vincenc Mašek, Václav Pichl, Václav Praupner and Jan Křtitel Kuchař.

Titles for sale:
Organ Compositions, Fugues
Organ Compositions, Preludes, Preambles, Fantasias