Background
Kauchlitz Colizzi was born in Chrudim, a town in eastern Bohemia, a part of the current Czechoslovakian Republic. Unfortunately, there is no data yet on the family in which he grew up.
Kauchlitz Colizzi was born in Chrudim, a town in eastern Bohemia, a part of the current Czechoslovakian Republic. Unfortunately, there is no data yet on the family in which he grew up.
He was also known as Johannes Colizzi. As a result, nothing is known about his education. But during childhood, Johann Andreas"s parents or guardians certainly must have emphasised musical training.
As an adult Johann Andreas taught his students to play the harpsichord and pianoforte.
He also composed and gave singing lessons. His first published composition, in fact a collection of songs with harpsichord accompaniment, appeared in 1766 in the German city of Braunschweig.
Remarkably Colizzi also made himself a meritorious etcher. On 15 June 1766 he obtained the appointment as an Italian language teacher at Leiden University, in the Dutch city of Leiden.
The Leiden art society Kunstgenootschap "Kunst Wordt Door Arbeid Verkreegen" published his bundle with songs and dances on the occasion of the wedding of prince-stadtholder William V of Orange and princess Wilhelmina of Prussia.
His orchestral works were written in the Leiden years. Among these works are the "Ouverture Slavonne" and the "Quattro Concerti Barbari". In 1774 his Dissertatio Philisophica De Sono was published based on a manuscript that he had completed six years earlier.
The book was followed by several other music theory works of his hand.
In the years 1762-1787 hymns of the Amsterdam reverend Rutger Schutte (1708-1784) were published. Colizzi was asked to write melodies in Italian style for the fourth volume.
After the Music Chapel was disbanded, because of the flight of the prince-stadtholder in 1795, Colizzi remained in The Hague. Colizzi died in The Hague on 15 August 1808.
He was buried on the cemetery "Eik en Duinen" (now "Oud Eik en Duinen").
An auction catalog of the estate was published shortly after his death by the The Hague bookseller Scheurleer. The estate included dozens of compositions and various etched cards.