In honor of the Month of the Holy Souls, here is a lovely Requeim by Joseph Balthasar Hochreither (1669 – 1731). I found a German-language dissertation online on Hochreither, and present here an AI-translation¹ of the abstract of that dissertation, which has much more information that the rather sparse Wikipedia article. The translation is below the embedded YouTube video.

I’m particularly intrigued by the connection between Hochreither and Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. Both have left us beautiful monuments of Catholic music.

Joseph Balthasar Hochreither (1669 – 1731)

Hochreither came from a family of musicians. Both his father and his grandfather were allegedly singers and choristers at the Salzburg Cathedral for over 40 years. More precise data on his ancestors is missing. On April 16, 1669, Joseph Balthasar Hochreither was baptized in Salzburg.

Nothing is known about the early years of his childhood, but his parents’ close relationship with the entire Salzburg Cathedral music scene likely benefited him in the selection of suitably capable teachers. None are known by name. It cannot be proven whether Hochreither had a training relationship with Georg Muffat – who had been the Salzburg court organist since 1678; in any case, the young musician was impressed by this brilliant organist personality in his vicinity.

Since Hochreither was enrolled at the gymnasium as a “Rudimentista ex Capella” from at least 1681, his membership in the Salzburg Kapellhaus (chapel house) is documented at the same time. From 1684, the head of this elite training center was Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704), who must therefore have been another important guide and teacher for the young Hochreither. It cannot be proven whether he also studied composition under Biber’s individual guidance. He completed his humanistic studies at the University of Salzburg in 1688 with the “Magister artium.”

Presumably from 1694, Hochreither succeeded Beniamin Ludwig Ramhaufski as organist and choir director at Lambach Abbey. During his tenure, he constantly strove to improve the quality of the abbey’s music and contributed his own works for many occasions. In January 1708, Hochreither wrote a detailed letter of complaint to his employer, Abbot Maximilian Pagl, in which he listed the current grievances in the Lambach church music and demanded improvements. This letter is still preserved in the monastery archives today and is a unique document about the general state of music in a monastery of the early 18th century.

Due to long-standing dissatisfaction and financial difficulties, Hochreither looked for a new position after more than 25 years of service in Lambach. He finally found this in the Salzburg court orchestra, where he was accepted into the ranks of the cathedral organists in 1721. Although Hochreither is likely to have continued his compositional activities in Salzburg, hardly any of his works from this period have survived. He died on December 14, 1731, and was buried in the cemetery of St. Peter’s (Salzburg).

---