Francis Xavier Witt

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Reformer ofchurch music, founder of the St. Cecilia Society for German-speaking countries, and composer, b. at Walderbach, Upper Palatinate, 9 Feb., 1834; d. at Landshut,Bavaria, 2 Dec., 1888. The son of aschool teacher, Witt was instructed in singing and piano and violin playing from his earliest youth, and when he entered upon his Classical studies atRatisbon he became a member of thecathedral choir under the direction of Joseph Schrems, through whose masterful interpretations of the long neglected sixteenth-century composers,Dr. Proske's reformideas were beginning to be put into practice. Witt's unusual musical gifts enabled him to grasp and remember every composition performed by the choir, and his musical development received from hishumanistic, philosophic, andtheological studies a solid foundation.Ordainedpriest, 11 June, 1856, for the next three years he was assistantpastor in Oberschneiding. Although sozealous for the care ofsouls that for a time he thought seriously of becoming a missionary, he continued the study of music in all its branches, and acquired the remarkable technical, historical, and æstheticknowledge and equipment sonecessary for his future work. On 17 Aug., 1859, he was called to thetheologicalseminary atRatisbon as teacher ofGregorian chant, homiletics, and catechetics. After three years he applied for the position of director of the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary and choirmaster at the Church of St. Emmeran inRatisbon. On 1 Jan., 1866, appeared the first number of his papers, "Fliegende Blatter fur Kirchenmusik", for teachers, organists, and choirmasters, founded, according to his own words, to makewar upon existing conditions inchurch music. The journal met with immediate success, and continues its mission to this day. He also served the cause of reform with great effect as a forceful speaker and as a composer. On 1 Jan., 1868, he began the publication of "Musica Sacra", a complement to "Fliegende Blatter", for the adequate treatment of all questions regarding the relation of music to the liturgy. During the same year, at the general diet of GermanCatholics held atBamberg, Witt founded the St. Cecilia Society forGermany,Austria, andSwitzerland. At the request of twenty-ninebishops thesociety was approved and given a cardinal protector by theHoly See in 1870. Witt served as its president for twenty years. In 1873 he becamepastor of theparish of Schatzhofen, but, two years later, failing health forced him to retire to Landshut, where he spent the last ten years of his life without pastoral charge. Father Witt united practically all the requisites of a successful reformer. Indomitable energy and a highly artistic temperament were made to serve thetheologian andzealouspastor who realized the harm which was being done to thefaithful by unworthy music. With his vigorous pen and spoken word he urged upon church musicians,priests, andlaymen the moralobligation of obeying thelaws of theChurch, and a return to theGregorian chant as the basis and informing principle of all music forliturgical use. His reformideas, propagated through the St. Cecilia Society with its 14,000 members, several musicschools, and a large number of journals devoted to the cause, have not only transformed musical conditions in the countries where they were put forth, but have had an echo throughout theCatholic world. As a composer Witt created a style entirely his own. Virility in his melodic material, vivid and striking declamation of the text, masterfulcontrapuntal construction, spontaneity, and organic cohesion are some of the characteristics of his works. He wrote more than twenty masses for different combinations of voices, some withorgan, some with orchestra accompaniment, and others a cappella,litanies,motets, covering practically the wholeliturgical year, and a large number of other compositions, most of which are standard and included in the repertoire of the best choirs throughout the world.

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