Jan Francisci

Hungarian/Slovak composer, organist and teacher Jan Francisci was born in what is now Banská Bystrica in Slovakia on 14 June 1691, studying mainly with his father, Juraj Francisci, and with local organists M Thomasi and J Karchut. He taught himself music theory by studying the work of Johann Mattheson.

He worked as a teacher and church musician, first succeeding his father as cantor in his home town, then travelled in Europe from 1722, befriending composers Johann Joseph Fux and Georg Reutter in Vienna and hearing J S Bach play in Leipzig, worked in what's now Bratislava from 1733 until 1735 and then returned to his home town as organist of the evangelical church.

Jan Francisci died in what would later become Banská Bystrica on 27 April 1758, aged sixty-six. Only a few of his pieces for organ and harpsichord have survived as written music.