Alois Jelen

Alois Jelen (11 May 1801, Světlá nad Sázavou – 15 October 1857, Prague) was a composer and archivist from the Austrian Empire.

He displayed musical talent at an early age, so his father, a school teacher, sent him to Prague for his primary education.

His first musical lessons were provided by the composer, Vincenc Mašek [cs], at St. Nicholas Church, where Jelen worked as a singer, from the age of nine.

[1] As a musician, he composed solo choral songs, both sacred and secular, and worked evenings as an opera singer.

His best known composition comes from this period; "Zasviť mi ty slunko zlaté" (Light up the Golden Sun for Me), set to words by Karel Drahotín Villani [cs], a Czech nobleman.