Christian Erbach (ca. 1568 – 14 June 1635) was a German

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

and composer. Erbach was born in

Gau-Algesheim Gau-Algesheim is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Gau-Algesheim, a kind of collective municipality. Geography Location Gau-Algesheim lies roughly 20 k ...

Mainz-Bingen Mainz-Bingen is a district (''Kreis'') in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Rheingau-Taunus, the district-free cities Wiesbaden and Mainz, the districts Groß-Gerau, Alzey-Worms, Bad ...

, now in the

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

Bundesland, and began to study musical composition at a considerably young age. Aside from the location of his birth and the mere fact that he studied the art of musical composition, the history of Erbach's youth is unknown. Throughout most of his life, Erbach held the position of assistant or chief organist for the city of

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

. One may consider him a composer of reverence during his lifetime because many of his students, both

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, were attracted to his talent. The influence upon the music of Erbach was primarily Venetian notwithstanding the indubitable characteristics of

Hans Leo Haßler Hans Leo Hassler (in German, Hans Leo Haßler) (baptized 26 October 1564 – 8 June 1612) was a German composer and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, elder brother of less known composer Jakob Hassler. He was born in N ...

within his

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

works. The most popular pieces by Erbach include ''In ihren grossen Nöthen'' (1609) and ''Madrigal Tirsi morir.'' Erbach died in

. Outside the context of instrumental music, Erbach also wrote pieces for church services and the

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

festivals. He was considered to have a fine ear for the organ and was thus consulted during the development of several 17th-century instruments.

References

*William Keith Haldeman (1962), ''The Vocal Compositions of Christian Erbach'', University of Rochester

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Erbach, Christian 1560s births 1635 deaths Renaissance composers German classical composers German Baroque composers 17th-century classical composers German male classical composers 17th-century male musicians