1787-1863
Franz X. Gruber (1787-1863)

No­vem­ber 25, 1787, Un­ter­weiz­berg (near Hoch­burg), Aus­tria.

June 7, 1863, Hallein (near Salzburg), Austria.

Hallein, Austria.

Son of a lin­en weav­er, Gru­ber learned the vi­o­lin against his fa­ther’s wish­es, and stu­died or­gan un­der Ge­org Hart­dob­ler. He taught school at Arns­dorf, Aus­tria (1807-29), and in 1816 be­gan play­ing the or­gan at St. Ni­ko­laus Church in Obern­dorf. Lat­er, he served as head­mas­ter in Bern­dorf (1828-32), and played the or­gan and di­rect­ed the choir at Hall­ein (1833-63). He is said to have com­posed over 90 mu­sic­al piec­es.

  1. Stille Nacht