Son of a black­smith, Tra­nov­ský en­rolled at the Un­i­ver­si­ty of Wit­ten­berg in 1607. In 1616, he was or­dained, and spent his life teach­ing and preach­ing in Prague, Mora­via, Si­le­sia, and Slo­vak­ia. He trans­lat­ed the Augs­burg Con­fes­sion into Slo­vak, but he is main­ly known for his Ci­tha­ra Sanc­to­rum (Harp of the Saints), the cor­ner­stone of Slo­vak hym­no­dy. Of its 400 hymns, some were from trans­lat­ed from La­tin or Lu­ther­an cho­rales, but about 150 were Tra­nov­ský’s own work.

Sources

Hymns

1. Čas radosti, veselosti
   • Come Re­joic­ing, Voices Prais­ing
2. Věříme v všem­o­hou­cí­ho
   • In One True God We All Be­lieve
3. Známe to, Pane Bože náš
4. Zpivejmež, všickni ve­sele
   • Make Songs of Joy