Ignác František Mara

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Ignác František Mára (1709–1783) was a Bohemian cellist and composer of late Baroque to Classical transition era. Ignác František Mára (also commonly Ignaz or Ignatius Mara) was born in Havlíčkův Brod, Bohemia, where he began his musical education. In 1742 he began his employment as a chamber musician at the Royal Court in Berlin, where he received an annual salary of 600 thaler. In his youth Mara was known as a fine soloist, whose tone and manner of performance were extremely moving. By 1779, while no longer performing as a soloist, he was noted as an excellent orchestral musician. He died in Berlin in 1783. Ignác's son, Johann Baptist also became a cellist and composer, active in Berlin. Johann Baptist was involved in a difficult marriage to the soprano Gertrud Elisabeth Mara. Ignác's younger brother, Kajetan, was an organist, choir director and composer of sacred music in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. Mara was said by Gerber to have been the most "correct" composer for the cello and composed many solos, duets and concertos for it. The only work which can be attributed with certainty to Ignác Mara is a Concerto in E-flat for viola, strings and continuo. The Concerto survives in two manuscript sources in the archive of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin, and is ascribed in both sources to "Ignazio Mara". Any attempt to attribute further works to either Ignác, or his son Johann Baptist, is hampered by the fact that all other manuscripts are signed only "Mara". This is even mor

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