The Greatest Baroque Composer You’ve Never Heard Of

What do you think of the Missa Salisurgensis (Salzburg Mass)? I had never heard of this piece before coming across The Greatest Baroque Composer Never Known.

As a choirmaster in 1870s Salzburg, Innocenz Achleitner often saw sheet music treated in a less-than-reverent manner. It might be scattered across a composer’s desk, crammed into vocalists’ folios, or even marred with personal notes about bowings or breath marks. Never before, however, had he seen it wrapped around vegetables.

Only about 80% of men at the time were literate enough to sign their own name, so it’s possible Achleitner’s greengrocer didn’t recognize what the marks on his packing material meant, especially since each page stretched roughly 80 centimeters tall and resembled something more like newsprint rather than a standard sheet of music. The choirmaster knew better, of course, and quickly convinced his grocer to hand them over.

Read further through the article to learn more about this piece and how musicologists have tried to piece together who the composer of this piece of music really was.

One thought on “The Greatest Baroque Composer You’ve Never Heard Of

  1. Hello Dave I wanted to know if there is anyway to contact you Im From Denver and have some personal Embouchure questions. Any help is appreciated

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