A solemn mass by Benedikt Anton Aufschnaiter
further date 13 June 2024, Kitzbühel parish church
Kitzbühel-born Benedikt Anton Aufschnaiter was one of the most important composers of the southern German-Austrian high baroque period. In 1705, he succeeded Georg Muffat as court conductor to the prince-bishop of Passau. As such, he devoted himself almost exclusively to musica sacra, having previously worked around the Viennese imperial court and having primarily made a name for himself with publications in the field of instrumental music. In 1712, Aufschnaiter published a collection of sonorous mass settings as his opus 6.
In our concert, which will also be performed in Aufschnaiter’s birthplace of Kitzbühel, the opulently scored “Missa renovata Sancti Benedicti” from the 1712 print will be embedded in a liturgical context and supplemented with smaller church works by Aufschnaiter as well as instrumental music from his pen and organ works by his predecessor in Passau, Georg Muffat.
With this large-scale project, we are honouring a baroque composer from Tyrol who is still too little known.
Bonus: 6.15 pm introductory talk