Heinrich Schwemmer (28 March 1621 – 31 May 1696) was a German

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

teacher and composer. He was born in Gumpertshausen bei Hallburg,

Lower Franconia Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. History After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totally ...

, and moved with his mother to

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

after his father’s death in 1627, to get away from the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

. After his mother's death in 1638, he moved to

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

, then in 1641 to

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, where he remained for the rest of his life. He studied music with Kindermann at the Sebaldusschule, and in 1650 himself became a teacher, effectively a Kantor without the title; from 1656 he was ''Director chori musici'' along with Paul Hainlein. Along with

Georg Caspar Wecker Georg Caspar Wecker (baptized 2 April 1632 – 20 April 1695) was a German Baroque organist and composer. A minor composer of the Nuremberg school, Wecker is now best remembered as one of Johann Pachelbel's first teachers. Wecker was born an ...

, he taught a generation of musicians in the tradition of the South German school, including Nikolaus Deinl,

Johann Krieger Johann Krieger (28 December 1651 – 18 July 1735) was a German composer and organist, younger brother of Johann Philipp Krieger. Born in Nuremberg, he worked at Bayreuth, Zeitz, and Greiz before settling in Zittau. He was one of the most importan ...

, Johann Löhner, Johann Pachelbel, J.B. Schütz, and Maximilian Zeidler. Schwemmer taught

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or with ...

, while Wecker gave instruction in

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 ...

playing and

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

. All his known compositions, of which there a considerable number in manuscript, are vocal works: mostly sacred

strophic Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. Contrasting song forms include through-composed, ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

s for

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

s and funerals, with some cantatas and

chorale concerto In music, a chorale concerto is a short sacred composition for one or more voices and instruments, principally from the very early German Baroque era. Most examples of the genre were composed between 1600 and 1650. Description This use of t ...

s. He was a master of the

concertato Concertato is a term in early Baroque music referring to either a ''genre'' or a ''style'' of music in which groups of instruments or voices share a melody, usually in alternation, and almost always over a basso continuo. The term derives from ...

vocal style.

Sources

* Harold E. Samuel, 'Schwemmer, Heinrich'
Grove Music Online
ed. L. Macy (Accessed 2007-06-10) * Harold E. Samuel: ''The Cantata in Nuremberg during the Seventeenth Century'' ( Ann Arbor, 1982)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwemmer, Heinrich German Baroque composers Organists and composers in the South German tradition German male organists German music educators 1621 births 1696 deaths Pupils of Johann Erasmus Kindermann 17th-century classical composers German male classical composers 17th-century male musicians Male classical organists