Heinrich Finck (1444 or 1445 – 9 June 1527) was a notable German

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. He served as ''Kapellmeister'' first for Prince Alexander of Lithuania, later King of Poland, before living Poland in 1510. He worked in Stuttgart before becoming a member (and months before his death, the ''Kapellmeister'') the ''Hofkapell''. He was the great-uncle of the music theorist and composer

Hermann Finck Hermann Finck (21 March 1527 – 28 December 1558) was a German composer. Career Finck was born in Pirna Pirna (; hsb, Pěrno; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany and capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. ...

(1527 – 1558).

Biography

He was probably born at

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

, but nothing is certainly known either of the place or date of his birth. Between 1492 and 1506 he was a musician in, and later possibly conductor of the court orchestra of successive kings of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. He held the post of conductor at

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

from 1510 till about 1514, then was a composer at the

Hofkapelle A court chapel (German: Hofkapelle) is a chapel (building) and/or a chapel as a musical ensemble associated with a royal or noble court. Most of these are royal (court) chapels, but when the ruler of the court is not a king, the more generic "co ...

Emperor Maximilian I Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself Ele ...

, from 1519(?) at the chapter in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

, and in 1527 ''Hofkapellmeister'' of

Emperor Ferdinand I Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sabo ...

in Vienna, where he died.

Works

His works, mostly part songs and other vocal compositions, show great musical knowledge, and amongst the early masters of the German school he holds a high position. They are found scattered amongst ancient and modern collections of songs and other musical pieces.R. Eitner, ''Bibliographie der Musiksammelwerke des XVI. und XVII. Jahrhunderts,'', Berlin, 1877 The library of

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ' ...

possesses a work containing a collection of fifty-five songs by Finck, printed about the middle of the 16th century.

Recordings

The German vocal ensemble group " Stimmwerck" has recorded a CD of vocal works by Finck, including his "Missa Dominicalis"; and the Josquin Capella another including his "Missa Ave Preclara".

References

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Finck, Heinrich 15th-century German composers 16th-century German composers 1440s births 1527 deaths Year of birth uncertain