Leander Schlegel

Hermann Schlegel was a German ornithologist, herpetologist and ichthyologist.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Hermann Schlegel.

From the period sources

Leander Schlegel, identified as Oelschlegel in the Biographie universelle des musiciens et bibliographie générale de la musique (1837), entered the Premonstratensian order in 1747, taking his vows at the Strahow convent. Nine years later, at the age of thirty-two, he was tasked with directing the abbey’s choir, which prompted him to undertake serious studies in harmony and composition with Sehling and Habermann. He persevered in these lessons for several years, after which he composed extensively for his church. Notably, in 1759, despite never having studied organ building principles, he embarked on the complete restoration, or rather reconstruction, of the Strahow organ, which was in a deplorable state despite being completed only in 1746. This monumental task occupied him for fifteen years, concluding in 1774. He subsequently published a description of the instrument in 1786, titled Beschreibung der in der Pfarrkirche des K. Prcemonstratenserstifts Strahow in Prag befindlichen grossen Orgel, which included his portrait. He also left a more extensive manuscript description, offering instructions for future repairs. Oelschlegel died in his monastery in 1788 at the age of sixty-four. His prolific output included seven oratorios, two Nativity mysteries, a pastoral mass, a Requiem mass, numerous motets for various liturgical occasions, fourteen offertories, church airs, litanies, hymns, three Te Deum settings, and a cantata for an abbot’s installation in 1774, among other sacred works. Later, The New Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians (1924) identifies a “Leander Schlegel” born near Haarlem in 1844, an eminent Dutch pianist and composer who toured with Wilhelmj and directed music schools, whose compositions resembled Brahms.