A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Proske, Karl

PROSKE, Karl, editor of the celebrated collection of ancient church-music called Musica Divina, born Feb. 11, 1794, at Gröbing in Upper Silesia, where his father was a wealthy landowner. Having studied medicine he made the campaign of 1813–15 as an army surgeon, but being compelled to retire by his health, he took his degree as Doctor of Medicine at Halle, and settled as government physician at Oppeln in Upper Silesia. Here he suddenly became a religious enthusiast, a change to which his devotion to church music doubtless contributed. Oa April 11, 1826, he was ordained priest by Bishop Sailer at Ratisbon, where he became vicar-choral in 1827, and Canon and Capellmeister of the Cathedral in 1830. From this time, with the aid of his private fortune, he began his celebrated collection of church music, residing for long in Italy exploring the great MS. collections there, and scoring from the voice-parts many very beautiful, but hitherto unknown works, and publishing them in a cheap, accurate, and legible form as 'Musica Divina [see vol. ii. p. 411]. Each volume is preceded by introductory remarks, biographical and bibliographical. Attention has been repeatedly called in this Dictionary to the merits of this collection. [See among others Mass; Improperia.] Proske died of angina pectoris, Dec. 20, 1861, bequeathing his collection to the episcopal library of Ratisbon, of which it forms one of the chief ornaments.

[ F. G. ]