Melchior Vulpius (c. 1570 in

Wasungen Wasungen () is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Werra, 11 km north of Meiningen. The former municipalities Hümpfershausen, Metzels, Oepfershausen, Unterkatz and Wahns Wahns i ...

– 7 August 1615 in

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 ...

) was a German singer and composer of church music. Vulpius came from a poor craftsman's family. He studied at the local school in

(in

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

) with Johannes Steuerlein. From 1588, he attended the school in

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...

. After marrying in 1589, he obtained a position at the Gymnasium in

Schleusingen Schleusingen is a town in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 10 km north of Hildburghausen, and 12 km southeast of Suhl. Geography The town of Schleusingen in the Henneberger Land got its name from ...

. In 1596, he was named cantor in

. He wrote and published church music, the best known being the setting of the

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

' (Ah, stay with your grace) on a text by Josua Stegmann. This setting was often performed in Protestant churches on

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

and at the end of the service. Important compilations were ' (1602, 1604), ' (1604), ' (1605) and ' (1609). The ''Cantional'' (a collection of songs) was published posthumously in 1646 in

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

. The ''St. Matthew Passion'' is another of Vulpius’ well-known works. By the middle of the 17th century the music for the ''Passion'' had spread also to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and later to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Based on the several copies of music manuscripts that have been preserved in different archives in Finland, it can be concluded that the Passion became rather popular there. According to historical sources, this was the very first

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...

passion composition ever performed in Finland. Later, the Passion fell into oblivion, but from 2007 onwards, the Finnish Vulpius Passion tradition has been revived by

Sonus Borealis Sonus is a Latin word that means “noise, sound” or “tone, character, style.” It is also the root word for sonic and sound and was included in the names of well-known companies, including Sonus Networks, Sony and Panasonic, among others. The ...

, that has been performing it in several churches in Southeast Finland, and Kuninkaantien muusikot (

Musicians of the King's Road Musicians of the King's Road (Finnish: ''Kuninkaantien muusikot'', Swedish: ''Kungsvägens musiker'') is a Finnish professional baroque orchestra and choir. The orchestra plays on period instruments. Orchestra and choir Musicians of the King' ...

), that has given multiple performances of the Passion in

Southwest Finland Southwest Finland, calqued as Finland Proper ( fi, Varsinais-Suomi ; sv, Egentliga Finland), is a region in the southwest of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The regi ...

Central Finland Central Finland ( fi, Keski-Suomi; sv, Mellersta Finland) is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Northern Savonia, No ...

and Ostrobothnia.

Hymn tunes

* "" * "", text by

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

* "" * "" * "" * "", text by

Michael Weiße Michael Weiße or Weisse ( – 19 March 1534) was a German theologian, Protestant reformer and hymn writer. First a Franciscan, he joined the Bohemian Brethren. He published the most extensive early Protestant hymnal in 1531, supplying most hymn ...

(tune name, GELOBT SEI GOTT) * "" * "" * "" (1609), Zahn No. 6288bLuke Dahn
BWV 159.5
at , 2017 * "" * ""

List of selected works

* ' (1602) * ' (1603) * ' (1604) * ' (1612) * ' (1613, new edition 1981) * ' (1614)

Citations

External links

*

(Bach-Cantatas.com) *
Sheet music and MIDIs for some of Vulpius' motets
1570s births 1615 deaths People from Schmalkalden-Meiningen German classical composers German Lutherans Classical composers of church music Renaissance composers German male classical composers {{Germany-composer-stub