Georgius Zrunek: Biography

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Georgius Zrunek was born on 19 March 1736 in Vnorovy close to Strážnice, where his father worked as a teacher. Originally christened Jozef, he joined the Franciscan Order in Uherské Hradište at the age of 18 and adopted the name of Georgius.

For the next few years, he completed his noviciate and studied philosophy and theology. Then in 1760, after ordination to priesthood, he was sent to assist the monastery in Kremnica, where they needed an organist and a teacher of novice singers. Here he first met Fr. Edmund Pascha, the preacher, and in 1761 they were both transferred to a monastery in Žilina.

During his career, Zrunek worked as a preacher, organist, and teacher of singing and organ playing in many cloisters throughout the province. Meanwhile he also composed numerous works, though mostly anonymously, as was tradition in the Franciscan order. In 1788 he was appointed a guardian of the cloister in Nižná Šebastová but did not last in the position for very long. He got an infectious disease, on 2 March 1789 was removed from the position and on 3 June 1789 died.

Timeline

The timeline below is translated from this site, mostly electronically with some hand-massaging of the results. Hopefully it mostly makes sense!

1736: born March 19, on the feast of St. Joseph, in a small Moravian village Znorovy (today Vnorovy) situated near Veselí nad Moravou. There is a record in the baptismal register that he was baptized as Jozef, and his parents were called Karol and Barbora.
1754: joined the Franciscans in Hlohovec, received the monastic name Georgius (Juraj). Even as a novitiate, he was often referred to as a good organist (organist bonus).
1755: entered the Franciscan order on April 30.
1755–1757: completed two years of philosophical studies in the Franciscan monastery in Nižná Šebastová
1757–1761: studied theology at the Franciscans in Hlohovec, while also service as organist, together with his colleague, already consecrated priest P. Pavlín Bajan. The vocals of the religious were taught by P. Lucas Szazecký.
1760: ordained as a priest in Hlohovec.
1761–1762: assigned to the monastery in Žilina, where he worked as an organist, teacher of singing and organ playing. His older colleagues also included Edmund Pascha, preacher and confessor.
1762–1763: transferred to Beckov Monastery for one year, where he worked as a singing teacher.
1763–1766: spent three years in the Franciscan monastery in Skalica. After the first year, in addition to his musical duties, he was entrusted also as auxiliary preacher. At the same time here as an organist and preacher also P. Pavlín Bajan.
1766–1767: worked in the Franciscan monastery in Žilina (again with P. E. Pascha).
1767–1768: transferred to the monastery in Gyöngyös, where he taught young colleagues in singing and organ playing. While there, preached in Slovak in nearby Slovak villages (Domoszló, Kisnána, Vécs, Markaz).
1768–1770: transferred to the Franciscans again in Vác, where he worked solely as a musician (not as a preacher for unknown reasons).
1770–1773: worked in Franciscan monastery in Kremnica as organist, music teacher and ordinary preacher.
1773–1775: worked in the monastery in Bardejov as an organist and fasting preacher.
1775–1776: worked in Okoličné as an organist and Sunday preacher.
1776–1778: succeeded P. Amantio Peschl in the monastery in Pruské. His colleagues included P. Hugolin Gavlovich. He was an organist and a teacher of music, and at the same time he became director of the chordiger(?) fraternity Francis. He was also a Sunday preacher and was fond of preaching on the feast of St. George (the patron of the temple and his personal). His preaching drew large audiences, even from his native Moravia, but the nobility criticized him for sermons containing allusions to magnates and hussars.
1778–1781: reassigned to the monastery in Žilina.
1781–1783: worked at the Franciscan monastery in Prešov.
1783–1789: spent the last years of his life in a monastery in Nižná Šebastová, where he became ill with jaundice and withered, succumbing to the disease at the age of 53 on June 3.

An Interactive Journey

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