In 1774-81 he attended the Grodków elementary school as well as sang in the church choir. From 1781 he went to a school run by the Dominican convent and later attended the Jesuit St Maciej Gymnasium in Wrocław. He sang in the monastery's choir and learnt the violin and basso continuo. His motet Ave Maria gratiae plena for two solo voices accompanied by instruments was performed in St Wojciech's Church in Wrocław in 1782. In 1786 Elsner enrolled at the theological faculty of Wroclaw University, but soon abandoned it for medical studies.
In the autumn of 1789 he left for Vienna with the intention of continuing medical studies, but two years later, badly ill, returned to the musical profession. In the autumn of 1791 he moved to Brno to become a violinist in the local theatre orchestra, and in the spring of the following year left for Lvov, where he was appointed conductor in the imperial royal theatre, a tenure which he held until 1795. By then he had staged his two operas composed to German librettos, Die seltenen Brüder and Der verkleidete Sultan. When Wojciech Bogusławski was charged with theatre management, Elsner became his partner, an occupation that he pursued alongside giving private lessons and organizing the Academy of Music, an institution that was to bring together musicians and music lovers and to run concerts. Indeed, the concerts were held every week, their programmes featuring concertos for solo instruments, vocal music as well as symphonies by Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Pavel Vranicky and Elsner himself.
In the summer of 1799 Elsner moved from Lvov to Warsaw to settle there permanently. From 1799 to 1824 he headed the opera of the National Theatre, enriching its repertoire with his thirty operas and two ballets. In 1802-6 he owned a music printing shop which from 1803 to 1805 regularly published collections of works under the title of Wybór pięknych dzieł muzycznych i pieśni polskich / A Selection of Beautiful Works of Music and Polish Songs. A total of 24 booklets came out.
In 1805 Elsner embarked upon an artistic journey to Germany and France. He established contact with musicians and publishing companies in France, Germany and Austria, and this made it possible for several of his works to get published in Leipzig and Paris. The same year he joined the Warsaw Society of Friends of Sciences. In 1805-6 he was involved with the Chamber of Music, helping to organise symphonic concerts. In 1802-25 he contributed reviews and articles to Polish magazines, and in 1811-19 to the Leipzig-based "Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung", writing mostly about contemporary Polish composers and Warsaw's music developments. In 1814 he founded the Religious and National Music Society, its task being the organization of concerts and education of teachers of music, organists, singers and musicians.
Meanwhile Elsner pursued pedagogical activities, teaching at Bogusławski's School of Drama in 1814-17 and lecturing on theory and composition in the schools which he managed: The Elementary School of Music and Dramatic Arts in 1817-21, The Institute of Music and Reciting in 1821-6 and The Main School of Music in 1826-31. The latter was the place where he educated a number of Polish composers, including Frederic Chopin, whose school certificate bore the following comment by Elsner: "a particular aptitude, a musical genius". From 1835 to 1839 Elsner also taught at the Teatr Wielki's School of Singing and, subsequently, at the Institute for Governesses.
Elsner was an honorary member of numerous musical societies at home, including The Krakow Society of Friends of Music, as well as of the Musikverein der Universitätskirche St. Pauli in Leipzig. A mason, he was made member of the highest chapter in 1820 and a master of the cathedra in 1821. His accomplishments in the field of music were recognized with the St Stanisław's Order in 1823. Three medals were minted in his honour.
Major works:
- Gradual for 2 sopranos, 2 violins, viola, double bass and 2 horns (ca. 1782)
- Violin concerto in G major (ca. 1783-84)
- Offertoria for 4 voices and orchestra (ca. 1783-84)
- Benedictus for soprano and instrumental group (ca. 1783-84)
- Completorium for choir, 2 violins, viola, 2 horns and organ (ca. 1785)
- Ad festum Corporis Christi for 4-voice choir, wind instruments and organ (ca. 1785-86)
- Symphony in E flat major (ca. 1788-89)
- Symphony in D major (ca. 1788-89)
- Nocturne in E flat major for orchestra (ca. 1788-89)
- Kyrie and Gloria in C major for choir, 2 violins, viola, 2 oboes, horn, trumpet, kettledrum and organ (ca. 1788-89)
- Der sterbende Jesus for solo voices and choir (ca. 1788-89)
- Viennese waltzes for orchestra (ca. 1790-91)
- Brno waltzes for orchestra (ca. 1791-92)
- Flute concerto (1791-92)
- March with echo and andante for orchestra (?)
- KarnevaltÄnze for orchestra (1792-99)
- Requiem op. 2 for 4-voice choir and wind instruments (1793)
- Violin concerto in D major (ca. 1795)
- Die seltenen BrÜder oder Die vier Zauberkugeln, opera in 2 acts (1795)
- Der verkleidete Sultan, opera in 3 acts (1795)
- Dzicy ludzie / The Savages, ballet in 1 act (ca. 1796)
- Trois quatuors for stringed instruments (ca. 1796)
- Iskahar, King of Guaxara, melodrama in 3 acts (1796)
- Symphony in D major (1796)
- Symphony in C major (1796)
- Symphony in E flat major (1797)
- Amazons, or Herminia, opera in 2 acts (1797)
- Sonata in F major for violin and piano op. 10 nr 1 (ca. 1798)
- Sonata in D major for violin and piano op. 10 nr 2 (ca. 1798)
- Sonata in E flat major for violin and piano op. 10 nr 3 (ca. 1798)
- Piano sonata in B flat major (ca. 1798)
- Piano sonata in D major (ca. 1798)
- Piano sonata in F major (ca. 1798)
- Piano trio in C major (ca. 1798)
- Quartet for 2 violins and 2 violas (ca. 1798)
- Trois quatuors du meilleur goût polonais for stringed instruments (1798)
- Grande sonate in B major, piano trio (1798)
- Sydney and Zuma, or the Power of Love of a Black Woman, melodrama in 3 acts (1798)
- String quintet in C minor (?)
- Mass in B flat major op. 3 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (1799)
- Piano quartet in F major (ca. 1800)
- Sultan Wampum czyli Nieroztropne zyczenia / Sultan Wampum, or Imprudent Wishes, opera in 2 acts (1800)
- String quintet (?)
- String quartet in B flat major (?)
- Symphony in D major (1802)
- Variations in B flat major on the theme of the march from Peter Winter's opera 'Broken Sacrifice' for piano (1802)
- Rondo à la mazurka in G minor for piano (1803)
- Rondo à la mazurka in C major for piano (1803)
- Rondo à la krakowiak in B flat major for piano (1803)
- Mieszkańcy wyspy Kamkatal / The Inhabitants of the Kamkatal Island, opera in 1 act (1803-04)
- Siedem razy jeden / Seven Times One, comic opera in 1 act (1804)
- Polonaise on the theme of the march from Luigi Cherubini's opera 'The Water-Carrier' for orchestra (1804)
- Polonaise in E major on the theme of the overture from Rodolphe Kreutzer's opera 'Lodoiska' for orchestra (1804)
- Lob der Buchdruckerkunst, cantata for solo voice, 4-voice choir and piano (1804)
- Symphony in C major op. 11 (1804-05)
- Stary trzpiot i młody mędrzec / The Old Scatterbrain and the Young Sage, opera in 1 act (1804-05)
- Piano quartet in E flat major op. 15 (ca. 1805)
- Urojenie i rzeczywistość / Delusion and Reality, opera in 1 act (ca. 1805)
- Nurzahad czyli Nieśmiertelność i bogactwa / Nurzahad, or Immortality and Riches, melodrama in 3 acts (1805)
- Wieszczka Urzella czyli To co się damom podoba / Urzella the Prophetess, or What Ladies Like, opera in 3 acts (1805-06)
- In te Domine speravi in E flat major op. 4, offertory for 4-voice choir and orchestra (ca. 1806)
- Mass in D minor op. 5 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (ca. 1806)
- Sąd Salomona / Solomon's Judgment, melodrama in 3 acts (1806)
- Andromeda, opera seria in 1 act (1806)
- Salvum fac imperatorem in B flat major op. 6, motet for 4-voice choir and orchestra (1807)
- Na wdzięcznej Polaków ziemi / On Poles' Graceful Land, cantata for choir and orchestra (1807)
- Trybunał niewidzialny czyli Syn występny / The Invisible Tribunal, or the Immoral Son, melodrama in 3 acts (1807)
- Pospolite ruszenie czyli Bitwa z kozakami / Levy in mass, or the Battle against the Cossacks, comic opera in 2 acts (1807)
- Mieczysław Ślepy, melodrama in 3 acts (1807)
- Karol Wielki i Witykind / Charlemagne and Wittekind, drama in 2 acts (1807)
- Sonata B-dur na fortepian na 4 rece / Sonata in B flat major op. 16 (?)
- Szewc i krawcowa / The Shoemaker and the Seamstress, duodrama in 1 act (1808)
- Echo w lesie / The Echo in the Forest, duodrama in 1 act (1808)
- Śniadanie trzpiotów / Breakfast of Scatterbrains, opera in 1 act (1808)
- Żona po drodze / The Wife on the Way, duodrama in 1 act (1808)
- Marsz tryumfalny / Triumphant March for wind orchestra (1809)
- Leszek Biały czyli Czarownica z Łysej Góry / Leszek Biały, or the Witch from Lysa Góra, opera in 2 acts (1809)
- Benefis, duodrama in 1 act (1809)
- Wariacje na temat arii z opery 'Żony przemienione czyli Szewc' M.A. Portogalla / Variations on the theme of an aria from Marco Portogallo's opera 'The Transformed Wives, or the Shoemaker' for orchestra (1810)
- Musik zu einer Trauerloge, cantata for male choir and orchestra (1811)
- Wyspa małżeńska czyli żony przez los wybrane / The Marital Island, or The Wives Chosen by Fate, melodrama in 3 acts (1811)
- Korsarz francuski w Portugalii / The French Corsair in Portugal, melodrama in 3 acts (?)
- Wąwozy Sierra Morena / The Gorges of the Sierra Morena, comic opera in 3 acts (1811)
- Veni Creator in C major op. 7 for two 4-voice choirs (1812)
- Kabalista / The Cabalist, opera in 2 acts (1812)
- Muzyka na wprowadzenie zwłok ks. J. Poniatowskiego w r. 1814 / Music on the Occasion of the Entry of Prince Józef Poniatowski's Body, cantata for recitation, choir and orchestra (1814)
- Veni Sancte Spiritus in E flat major op. 8 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (1815)
- Msza świętojańska F-dur / St John's Mass in F major op. 9 na 4 solo voices, 4-voice choir, orchestra and organ (ca. 1815)
- Motet seu Offertory de Sancto Josepho in C major op. 10 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (ca. 1815)
- Post celebrem... in D major op. 11 for soprano, bass, 4-voice choir and orchestra (1815)
- La ritrosia disarmata, duodrama in 1 act (1815)
- Polonez na temat piosenki 'où peut-on être mieux...' / Polonaise on the theme of the song 'où peut-on être mieux...' for orchestra (1816)
- Kochankowie ukryci / Hidden Lovers, opera in 2 acts (?)
- Król Lokietek czyli Wiśliczanki / King Ladislaus the Elbow-High, or the Peasant Girls of Wislica, opera in 2 acts (1817-18)
- Dwa posągi / Two Statues, ballet (1818)
- Symphony in B flat major op. 17 (ca. 1818)
- Polonaise in F major for orchestra (1818)
- Polonaise in D major for orchestra (1818)
- Offertory in G major op. 12 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (ca. 1819)
- Powstanmy z orezem w reku / Let Us Take to Arms, cantata for recitation, solo voices and choir (1819)
- Jagiełło w Tęczynie / King Jagiello in Tęczyn, opera in 3 acts (1819)
- Mass in G major op. 13 for 3-voice male choir and organ (ca. 1820)
- Folk Mass in G major op. 15 for 2 sopranos and organ (1820)
- Mass in C major op. 26 for 4 solo voices, 4-voice choir and orchestra (1820)
- Polonaise in D major for violin and piano (1820)
- Polonaise in E flat major for violin and piano (1820)
- Ofiara Abrahama / Abraham's Offering, melodrama in 4 acts (1821)
- Divertissement, ballet (?)
- Mass in F major op. 20 for 4-voice choir (ca. 1823)
- Mass in C major op. 22 for 4-voice male choir, 4 horns, trombone and kettledrums (ca. 1823)
- Gradual and Offertory in F major op. 23 for 4-voice male choir, 4 horns and trombone (ca. 1823)
- Mass in A minor op. 24 for 4-voice choir (ca. 1823)
- Gradual and Offertory in A major op. 25 for 4-voice choir (ca. 1823)
- Mass in D minor op. 16 for 4-voice choir (1823)
- Gradual and Offertory op. 17 for 4-voice choir (1823)
- Missa in B op. 18 for 3-voice male choir (1823)
- Gradual and Offertory in E flat major op. 19 for 3-voice male choir (1823)
- Offertory in C major op. 31 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (1823)
- Offertory in C major op. 33 for 4-voice choir, orchestra and organ (ca. 1824)
- Offertory D major op. 32 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (1824)
- Motet in C major op. 28 for two 4-voice choirs
- Mass in G major op. 34 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (ca. 1825)
- Mass in F major op. 35 for 4-voice choir and organ (ca. 1825)
- Vespers in C major op. 36 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (ca. 1825)
- Offertory in G major op. 38 for 4-voice choir, flute obbligato and orchestra (ca. 1825)
- Te Deum laudamus in D major op. 39 for 4-voice choir, trumpet and kettledrums (ca. 1825)
- Veni Creator in G major op. 40 for 4-voice choir (ca. 1825)
- Mazur for orchestra (ca. 1825)
- Mass in F major op. 41 for 4-voice choir, orchestra and organ (ca. 1826)
- Requiem in C minor op. 42 na 3 male voices, cello, wind instruments and kettledrums (1826)
- Salve Regina in B flat major, Processio funebris in C minor, Psalmus: De profundis in C minor op. 43 for 3 male voices, 4-voice choir and orchestra (1827)
- Gradual in F major op. 29 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (1828)
- Offertory in B flat major op. 30 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (1828)
- Offertory in B flat major op. 45 for 4-voice choir, orchestra and organ (ca. 1829)
- Offertory in A major op. 46 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (ca. 1829)
- Solemn Mass in B flat major op. 47 for 4 solo voices, 4-voice choir and orchestra (ca. 1829)
- Offertory in G major op. 48 for 4-voice choir, orchestra and organ (ca. 1829)
- O sacrum convivum op. 49, hymn for 4-voice choir and wind instruments (ca. 1829)
- Offertory in F major op. 50 for 3-voice male choir (ca. 1829)
- Solemn (Coronation) Mass in C major op. 51 for 4 solo voices, 4-voice choir and orchestra (ca. 1829)
- Mass in B flat major op. 44 for 2 sopranos, 2 tenors, bass and organ (1829)
- Septet in D major for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, double bass and piano (ca. 1830)
- Powstanie narodu / The Origins of the Nation, lyrical scene in 1 act (1830)
- Marsz przedniej straży wojska polskiego / March of the Vanguard of the Polish Army for orchestra (1831)
- March for orchestra (1831)
- Missa festiva in C major op. 52 for 4-voice choir, orchestra and organ (ca. 1832)
- Cantate zur Jubel-Feier... in D major op. 53 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (1832)
- Veni Creator in G major op. 54 for 5-voice choir and organ (1834)
- Offertory in C major op. 56 for 4-voice choir and organ (ca. 1835)
- Gradual E flat major op. 57 for soprano, 4-voice choir and orchestra (1835)
- Passio Domini nostri in D minor op. 65 for 14 solo voices, three 4-voice choirs and orchestra (1835-37)
- Offertory op. 58 for choir (ca. 1836)
- Motet in G major op. 59 for 4 solo voices, 4-voice choir and orchestra (1836)
- Chaconne in G major for violin and piano (1836)
- Alleluia in B major op. 60 for 4-voice choir (1836-40)
- Polonaise in D major for violin and piano (?)
- Mass in E minor - E major op. 62 for 4 solo voices, 4-voice choir and orchestra (ca. 1838)
- Psalm 133 op. 63 for 2 choirs (ca. 1838)
- Mass in D minor and D major in laudem omnium sanctorum slavonorum polonorum op. 66 for 2 solo voices, 4-voice choir and orchestra (1840)
- Ave Maria in B major op. 68 for 4-voice choir and organ (1840)
- Offertory in F major op. 70 for 4-voice choir, orchestra and organ (1840)
- Offertory in F major op. 71 for 4-voice choir (1840)
- Canticum Simeonis in E minor op. 69 for 5-voice choir (1841)
- Mass in G minor op. 72 for 4 solo voices, 4-voice choir and orchestra (1842)
- Veni Creator in B major op. 73 for 4-voice male choir (1842)
- Te Deum laudamus op. 74 for two 4-voice male choirs (1842)
- Mass in G major op. 75 for 2 sopranos, violin, 2 violas, cello and organ (1842)
- Shepherd Mass in A minor op. 76 for 4-voice choir, cello and organ (1842)
- Mass in E major op. 77 for 3-voice male choir and organ (1843)
- Veni Creator op. 78 for 3-voice male choir and organ (1843)
- Mass in F major op. 79 for 3-voice male choir and organ (1843)
- Msza in B major op. 80 for 4-voice choir and organ (1843)
- Mass in A minor op. 81 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (1843)
- Gradual in A major op. 82 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (1843)
- Offertory in E major op. 83 for 4-voice choir, solo violin and orchestra (1843)
- Missa brevis in F major op. 85 for 3-voice male choir and organ (1844)
- Offertory in B major op. 86 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (1844)
- Mass, Gradual and Offertory op. 87 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (1844)
- Powitanie gołąbka / Greeting of the Dove, cantata for 4 male voices, violin, cello and piano (1844)
- Mass in E minor op. 88 for 4-voice choir and organ (1846)
- Vespers in D major op. 89 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (1847)
- Ave maris stella in A major op. 90 for 4-voice choir, orchestra and organ (1847)
- Dies irae in F minor op. 91 for 4-voice choir and organ (1847)
- O gloriosa virginum in B major op. 92 for 4-voice choir and orchestra (1847)
- Stabat Mater op. 93 for solo voices, choir and orchestra (1848)
- Gradual in D major op. 94 for bass, 4-voice choir and orchestra (1848)
- Pater noster op. 95 for 4-voice choir and organ (1848)
- Miserere mei Deus op. 96 for solo voices, 3 choirs, male choir (1848)
- Veni Creator in A major op. 97 for 4-voice choir and organ (1849)
Author: Małgorzata Kosińska, Polish Music Information Center, Polish Composers' Union, October 2006.