Christoph Straus (1575–1631) was an Austrian composer,

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

and

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 ...

. His church music includes polyphonic pieces and polychoral Masses, including a notable Requiem for high and low choirs. Although his textures were, by current standards, old-fashioned at the time, his

word painting Word painting, also known as tone painting or text painting, is the musical technique of composing music that reflects the literal meaning of a song's lyrics or story elements in programmatic music. Historical development Tone painting of words ...

proves his acquaintance with the newest Italian music. He was employed as Court composer by

Emperor Ferdinand II Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria of Bavaria. His parents were de ...

from 1616 to 1620 and rose to the post of Kapellmeister in St Stephen's Cathedral. He wrote 36 motets (published in 1613) and 16 surviving masses (1631). His later compositions require a wide variety of orchestral colours. DTO vol 49 Vol Guido Adler

References

1575 births 1631 deaths Austrian classical composers Austrian Baroque composers 17th-century classical composers Austrian male classical composers 17th-century male musicians {{Austria-composer-stub