Proske, Carl

Proske, Carl , noted German music scholar and editor; b. Gröbnig, Feb. 11, 1794; d. Regensburg, Dec. 20, 1861. He was a medical student, and served in the medical corps during the war of 1813–15. He took the degree of M.D. at Halle Univ. in 1817, and practiced at Oberglogau and Oppeln. In 1823 he renounced medicine for theology, and studied at Regensburg. He was ordained in 1826, and became vicar-choral in 1827 and canon and Kapellmeister of the Church of Our Lady at Regensburg in 1830. After diligent research in Germany and Italy, he began his lifework, the publ. of sacred classics, the first being Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli (Palestrina’s original version, and arrangements by An-erio a 4 and Suriano a 8), followed by the famous collection Musica divina, containing chiefly Italian mas-terworks of the 16^th–17th centuries: Vol. 1, 12 masses a 4 (1853), Vol. II, motets for the entire church year (1855), Vol. Ill, fauxbourdons, Psalms, Magnificats, hymns, and antiphons (1859), and Vol. IV, Passions, Lamentations, responses, Te Deums, litanies (1863; ed. by Wesselack; its publication was continued by Schrems and Haberl. Proske also publ. Selectus novus missarum a 4–8 (1855–59). His valuable library passed into the care of the Regensburg bishopric.

Bibliography

Dom Mettenleiter, C. P. (Regensburg, 1868; 2^nd ed., 1895); K. Weinmann, C. P., der Restaurator der katholischen Kirchenmusik (Regensburg, 1909).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire