3 Kanzonen

Includes revision report

Anton Holzner was born between 1598 and 1600, presumably in Mainburg (Lower Bavaria). In 1607, he joined the Munich court as a treble singer. From 1614, he served as organist to Duke Maximilian I, who later became Elector of Bavaria. In 1615, he went to Parma to study for two and a half years, followed by another year in Rome. In 1619, he returned to the Munich court, where he remained until his death. He was struck down by the plague in 1635.
The canzonas published here have no year of publication. They appear in a handwritten organ tablature alongside works by Girolamo Frescobaldi, Christian Erbach, Giovanni Gabrieli and Hans Leo Haßler. The canzonas are in the form of the ricercar, which Holzner became acquainted with in Italy and then continued to use in Germany. Holzner was probably a pupil of Frescobaldi's organ class. In the strict style of the Roman school, incorporating modern compositional principles, he wrote 24 motets for one to five voices, 7 Magnificats for five or six voices and 7 masses for five to eight voices (also double choir).