Besler, Samuel (EN)

Besler Samuel, *15 December 1574 Brzeg, † 19 July 1625 Wrocław, cantor and composer active in Silesia. From 1594, after completing his music studies, he was a cantor at the seminary at the Church of the Holy Spirit and at the Church of St Bernardine in Wrocław. From 1605 until his death, he served as director of the joint schools of the Holy Spirit and St Bernardine. As a municipal cantor, and also due to his compositional and organisational activities, he played an important role in the musical life of Wrocław in the first quarter of the 17th century.

He wrote mainly religious music, as well as secular occasional pieces. Twenty-two prints published during his lifetime in Wrocław (one in Legnica) have survived. Besler is considered a more outstanding composer of passions than H. Schütz. They were published in a collection of single-voice a cappella songs on the theme of the Passion. Stylistically, Besler’s works cover a wide range – from simple one- or multi-voice arrangements of Latin and German songs or motets to works using polyphony and concertante style.

Literature: H.J. Moser Zur sudetendeutschen Musik in Renaissance und Barock, “Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Sudetenlander” VI, 1943, iss. 3; T. Jeż Łacińska twórczość muzyczna w ewangelickim Wrocławiu. Problem trwałości tradycji w czasach przemian konfesyjnych, “Barok” 11, 2004; A. Wróblewska Samuel Besler (1574–1625) – zarys życia i twórczości, “Kwartalnik Młodych Muzykologów UJ” No. 39 (4/2018).