The 17th century organ composers of Germany can be
divided into two primary schools: the north German school and the south German school (sometimes a third school, central German, is added). The stylistic differences were dictated not only by teacher-pupil traditions and international influences, but also by separate organ building traditions: northern organs tend to have a tower layout with emphasis on the
pedal division, while southern and Austrian instruments are typically divided around a window and emphasize manual divisions.
North German organ school
Overview
The composer who is now considered the founder of this school is
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck ( ; April or May, 1562 – 16 October 1621) was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard compo ...
, a
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
composer (a student of his father
Pieter Swybbertszoon and of
Gioseffo Zarlino
Gioseffo Zarlino (31 January or 22 March 1517 – 4 February 1590) was an Italian music theorist and composer of the Renaissance. He made a large contribution to the theory of counterpoint as well as to musical tuning.
Life and career
Zarlino w ...
in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
). Sweelinck's fame as a teacher was very widespread (in Germany he was known as the "maker of organists"), as was his influence. However, the English keyboard school withered during the first half of the 17th century, and the Dutch composers after Sweelinck were either not on his level (
Anthoni van Noordt
Anthoni van Noordt (c. 1619 – 23 March 1675) was a Dutch composer and organist.
Born in Amsterdam, where he lived throughout his life, he was the brother of Jacobus and Jan van Noordt. He became the organist of the Nieuwezijdskapel in 1652, a ...
) or left too few compositions to make any significant mark on the history of European music (
Pieter Cornet). Sweelinck's influence therefore was primarily important in Germany,
Heinrich Scheidemann
Heinrich Scheidemann (ca. 1595 – 1663) was a German organist and composer. He was the best-known composer for the organ in north Germany in the early to mid-17th century, and was an important forerunner of Dieterich Buxtehude and J.S. Ba ...
and
Gottfried Scheidt
Gottfried Scheidt (20 September 1593 – 3 June 1661) was a German composer and organist.
Born in Halle, he moved to Amsterdam in 1611 to study with Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, returning home in 1615 to further study with his older brother Samuel ...
being the first major composers to study under him.
Later northerners like
Franz Tunder
Franz Tunder (1614 – November 5, 1667) was a German composer and organist of the early to middle Baroque era. He was an important link between the early German Baroque style which was based on Venetian models, and the later Baroque style ...
,
Georg Böhm
Georg Böhm (2 September 1661 – 18 May 1733) was a German Baroque organist and composer. He is notable for his development of the chorale partita and for his influence on the young J. S. Bach.
Life
Böhm was born in 1661 in Hohenkirchen. He ...
and
Johann Adam Reincken
Johann Adam Reincken (also ''Jan Adams, Jean Adam'', ''Reinken, Reinkinck, Reincke, Reinicke, Reinike''; Baptism, baptized 10 December 1643 – 24 November 1722) was a Dutch/German organist and composer. He was one of the most important composers ...
all cultivated a harmonically and rhythmically complex improvisatory style rooted in the chorale improvisation tradition. Forms such as the organ
prelude (a multi-sectional composition with numerous flourishes and embellishments such as scale runs, arpeggios and complex counterpoint) and the chorale fantasia (a musical setting of a whole verse of the chorale text, resulting in a multi-sectional composition with contrasting sections for different lines) were developed almost exclusively by north German composers.
Dieterich Buxtehude
Dieterich Buxtehude (; ; born Diderik Hansen Buxtehude; c. 1637 – 9 May 1707) was a Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal ...
's work represents the pinnacle of this tradition; the ''praeludia'' form the core of his work.
Nikolaus Bruhns
Nicolaus Bruhns (also ''Nikolaus'', ''Nicholas''; late 1665 – in Husum) was a Danish-German organist, violinist, and composer. He was one of the most prominent organists and composers of his generation.
Biography
Bruhns was born in Schwabste ...
was the most important of Buxtehude's pupils, but he died early and only a few works by him survive.
The quality of north German organs improved vastly during the 17th and early 18th century. The instruments would typically have two or more manuals, a pedalboard and a wide range of stops; this contributed to the style cultivated across the region as the majority of large-scale works require considerable pedal skills and benefit from larger, more versatile organs.
List of composers
*
Johann Friedrich Alberti
Johann Friedrich Alberti (11 January 1642 – 14 June 1710) was a German composer and organist.
Alberti was born in Tönning, Schleswig. He received his musical training in Leipzig from Werner Fabricius and in Dresden from Vincenzo Albrici. T ...
(studied under
Werner Fabricius
Fabricius Werner (1633-1679), an organist and composer of note, was born April 10, 1633, at Itzehoe, Holstein. As a boy he studied music under his father, Albert Fabricius, organist in Flensburg, and Paul Moth, the Cantor there. He went to the Gym ...
and
Vincenzo Albrici
Vincenzo Albrici (26 June 1631 in Rome - 7 September 1687 in Prague) was an Italian composer, brother of Bartolomeo and nephew of Fabio and Alessandro Costantini.
Albrici was born as the son of singer who settled from Marche in Rome. In 1641 he ...
)
* Vincenzo Albrici
*
Bach Family
The Bach family refers to several notable composers of the Baroque music, baroque and Classical period (music), classical periods of music, the best-known of whom was Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). A family genealogy was drawn up by Johann ...
*
Christoph Bernhard
Christoph Bernhard (1 January 1628 – 14 November 1692) was born in Kolberg, Pomerania, and died in Dresden. He was a German Baroque composer and musician. He studied with former Sweelinck-pupil Paul Siefert in Danzig (now Gdańsk) and in War ...
(studied under
Paul Siefert
Paul Siefert (variants: Syfert, Sivert, Sibert; 23 May 1586 – 6 May 1666) was a German composer and pipe organ, organist associated with the North German school.
Biography
He was born in Danzig (Gdańsk), Royal Prussia (a fief of the Crown of ...
and
Agostino Fontana Agostino may refer to:
*Agostino (name)
* ''Agostino'' (film), an Italian film directed by Mauro Bolognini
* ''Agostino'' (novel), a short novel by Alberto Moravia
*, an Italian coaster
See also
*Agostini (disambiguation)
*D'Agostino (disambiguati ...
; worked with
Heinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...
and
Matthias Weckmann
Matthias Weckmann (''Weckman'') (''c''.1616 24 February 1674) was a German musician and composer of the Baroque period. He was born in Niederdorla (Thuringia) and died in Hamburg.
Life
His musical training took place in Dresden (as a chorister a ...
)
*
Georg Böhm
Georg Böhm (2 September 1661 – 18 May 1733) was a German Baroque organist and composer. He is notable for his development of the chorale partita and for his influence on the young J. S. Bach.
Life
Böhm was born in 1661 in Hohenkirchen. He ...
(studied under Reincken)
*
Jakob Bölsche
Jakob may refer to:
People
* Jakob (given name), including a list of people with the name
* Jakob (surname), including a list of people with the name
Other
* Jakob (band), a New Zealand band, and the title of their 1999 EP
* Max Jakob Memorial Aw ...
(studied under
Georg Dietrich Leyding
Georg Dietrich Leyding (or Leiding) (; 23 February 1664 – 10 May 1710) was a German composer and organist associated with the North German school.
Born in Bücken, close to Nienburg, his father was a riding master in the French lifeguards ...
)
*
Nikolaus Bruhns
Nicolaus Bruhns (also ''Nikolaus'', ''Nicholas''; late 1665 – in Husum) was a Danish-German organist, violinist, and composer. He was one of the most prominent organists and composers of his generation.
Biography
Bruhns was born in Schwabste ...
(studied under Buxtehude; nephew of
Friedrich Nicolaus Bruhns
Friedrich Nicolaus Bruhns or Brauns (11 February 1637 in Lollfuß – 13 March 1718 in Hamburg) was a German composer and music director in Hamburg.
Bruhns was born in Lollfuß, Schleswig. In 1682 he succeeded Nicolaus Adam Strungk in charge ...
)
*
Arnold Matthias Brunckhorst
Arnold Matthias Brunckhorst (1670–1725) was a German organist and composer.
He was born in Celle or Wietzendorf. Beginning in 1693, he served as an organist at St. Andreas in Hildesheim. In 1697, he assumed the organist's post at the Stadtkir ...
*
Johann Heinrich Buttstett
Johann Heinrich Buttstett (also ''Buttstedt'', ''Buttstädt'') (25 April 1666 – December 1, 1727) was a German Baroque organist and composer. Although he was Johann Pachelbel's most important pupil and one of the last major exponents of the sou ...
(studied under
Johann Pachelbel
Johann Pachelbel (baptised – buried 9 March 1706; also Bachelbel) was a German composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secularity, secular music, and h ...
)
*
Dieterich Buxtehude
Dieterich Buxtehude (; ; born Diderik Hansen Buxtehude; c. 1637 – 9 May 1707) was a Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal ...
(Associate of Reincken and Pachelbel (one of the two dedicatees of Pachelbel's ''
Hexachordum Apollinis
''Hexachordum Apollinis'' (PWC 193–8, T. 211–6, PC 131–6, POP 1–6) is a collection of keyboard music by Johann Pachelbel, published in 1699. It comprises six arias with variations, on original themes, and is generally regarded as one of th ...
''; son-in-law and successor to Tunder)
*
Andreas Düben I
*
Andreas Düben
Andreas Düben (1597 – 7 July 1662) was a Swedish Baroque composer and organist, and father of Gustaf Düben. He was born near Leipzig and was admitted to Leipzig University in 1609. He studied with the renowned Dutch pedagogue Jan Pieterszoon Sw ...
(studied under Sweelinck; son of Andreas Düben I, brother of
Martin Düben, father of
Gustaf Düben
Gustaf Düben (also spelt Gustav) (1624/1628December 19, 1690) was a Swedish organist and composer.
Personal life
Early life
Düben was born in the 1620s in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of the German-born Andreas Düben, an organist, and Anna ...
)
* Gustaf Düben (studied under his father Andreas Düben)
* Martin Düben (son of Andreas Düben I, brother of Andreas Düben; like his brother, studied under Sweelinck)
*
David Ebel I (father of
David Ebel II; successor to
Barthold Hering as Organist at
St. Mary's Church, Lübeck
*
David Ebel II
*
Hermann Ebel (successor of
Heinrich Marcus as Organist at St. Mary's Church, Lübeck; succeeded to post by
Peter Hasse
Peter (Petrus) Hasse (ca. 1585 – June 1640) was a German organist and composer, and member of the prominent musical Hasse family. The first written record of Hasse dates from his appointment as organist at the Marienkirche in Lübeck, a post ...
)
*
Daniel Erich (studied under Buxtehude)
* Werner Fabricius (studied under
Thomas Selle
Thomas Selle (23 March 1599 – 2 July 1663) was a seventeenth-century German baroque composer.
Life
There is practically no reliable information about the early years of Thomas Selle. Between his birth in 1599 and his matriculation in the U ...
and Scheidemann)
*
Christian Flor
Christian Flor (162628 September 1697) was a German composer and organist. Working at churches in Rendsburg and Lüneburg, he was widely known for vocal and organ compositions. He composed one of the earliest Passion oratorios, in 1667.
Life ...
(predecessor as Organist at
St. John's Church, Lüneburg
The Church of John the Baptist (Germ. ''St. Johannis'' or ''Johanniskirche'') is the oldest Lutheran church in Lüneburg, Germany. It is located in the city centre. Lüneburg is on the European Route of Brick Gothic and the church is an example o ...
to Böhm)
*
Johann Philipp Förtsch Johann Philipp Förtsch (14 May 1652 - 14 December 1732) was a German baroque composer, statesman and doctor.
Life
Förtsch was born in Wertheim and possibly received his musical education from Johann Philipp Krieger. Moving to Hamburg in 1674 to ...
(studied under
Johann Philipp Krieger
Johann Philipp Krieger (also ''Kriger'', ''Krüger'', ''Krugl'', and ''Giovanni Filippo Kriegher''; baptised 27 February 1649; died 7 February 1725) was a German people, German Baroque composer and organist. He was the elder brother of Johann Krieg ...
; a principal composer for the
Hamburg Opera
The Hamburg State Opera (in German: Staatsoper Hamburg) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''General ...
)
*
Christian Geist
*
Johann Nikolaus Hanff
Johann Nikolaus Hanff (25 September 1663 – 25 December 1711) was a North German organist and composer. Hanff was born in Wechmar in Thuringia and worked in Eutin, Hamburg and Schleswig.
In 1696 he became organist and conductor to the Bishop ...
(teacher to
Johann Mattheson
Johann Mattheson (28 September 1681 – 17 April 1764) was a German composer, singer, writer, lexicographer, diplomat and music theorist.
Early life and career
The son of a prosperous tax collector, Mattheson received a broad liberal education ...
)
*
Nikolaus Hasse (son of
Peter Hasse
Peter (Petrus) Hasse (ca. 1585 – June 1640) was a German organist and composer, and member of the prominent musical Hasse family. The first written record of Hasse dates from his appointment as organist at the Marienkirche in Lübeck, a post ...
)
*
Peter Hasse
Peter (Petrus) Hasse (ca. 1585 – June 1640) was a German organist and composer, and member of the prominent musical Hasse family. The first written record of Hasse dates from his appointment as organist at the Marienkirche in Lübeck, a post ...
(studied under Sweelinck; Succeeded to post of Organist at St. Mary's Church, Lübeck by
Franz Tunder
Franz Tunder (1614 – November 5, 1667) was a German composer and organist of the early to middle Baroque era. He was an important link between the early German Baroque style which was based on Venetian models, and the later Baroque style ...
)
*
Peter Hasse II
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
(studied under Sweelinck)
*
Petrus Heydorn
Petrus may refer to:
People
* Petrus (given name)
* Petrus (surname)
* Petrus Borel, pen name of Joseph-Pierre Borel d'Hauterive (1809–1859), French Romantic writer
* Petrus Brovka, pen name of Pyotr Ustinovich Brovka (1905–1980), Soviet Belar ...
*
Ewaldt Hintz (studied under
Johann Jakob Froberger
Johann Jakob Froberger ( baptized 19 May 1616 – 7 May 1667) was a German Baroque composer, keyboard virtuoso, and organist. Among the most famous composers of the era, he was influential in developing the musical form of the suite of dances in h ...
)
*
Wilhelm Karges
Wilhelm Karges (1613/14–1699), was a German organist and composer in the North German organ tradition. Much of Karges' life was spent in and around Berlin, where he was born, worked, and died. Karges came into contact with Sweelinck's student, ...
*
Andreas Kneller
Andreas Kneller (variants: Kniller, Knöller, Knüller) (23 April 1649 – 24 August 1724) was a German composer and organist of the North German school.
Life
Born in Lübeck, he was the younger brother of portrait painter Sir Godfrey Kneller. ...
(studied either under Tunder or his uncle Matthias Weckmann; brother to
Sir Godfrey Kneller
Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723), was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to English and British monarchs from ...
)
*
Johann Ludwig Krebs
Johann Ludwig Krebs (baptized 12 October 1713 – 1 January 1780) was a German Baroque musician and composer for the pipe organ, harpsichord, other instruments and orchestras. His output also included chamber music, choral works and concertos.
...
(studied under J. S. Bach, son of
Johann Tobias Krebs
Johann Tobias Krebs (7 July 1690 – 11 February 1762) was a German organist and composer, today best remembered as the father of Johann Ludwig Krebs, one of Bach's most accomplished pupils.
Krebs was born in Heichelheim and went to school i ...
)
*
Johann Tobias Krebs
Johann Tobias Krebs (7 July 1690 – 11 February 1762) was a German organist and composer, today best remembered as the father of Johann Ludwig Krebs, one of Bach's most accomplished pupils.
Krebs was born in Heichelheim and went to school i ...
(studied under J. S. Bach, father of
Johann Ludwig Krebs
Johann Ludwig Krebs (baptized 12 October 1713 – 1 January 1780) was a German Baroque musician and composer for the pipe organ, harpsichord, other instruments and orchestras. His output also included chamber music, choral works and concertos.
...
)
*
Adam Krieger
Adam Krieger (7 January 1634 – 30 June 1666) was a German composer. Born in Drezdenko, Driesen, Neumark, he studied organ (instrument), organ with Samuel Scheidt in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle. He succeeded Johann Rosenmüller as organist at Lei ...
(studied under
Samuel Scheidt
Samuel Scheidt (baptised 3 November 1587 – 24 March 1654) was a German composer, organist and teacher of the early Baroque era.
Life and career
Scheidt was born in Halle, and after early studies there, he went to Amsterdam to study with ...
)
*
Jakob Kortkamp (studied under
Jacob Praetorius
Jacob Praetorius or Schultz (8 February 158621 or 22 October 1651) was a German people, German Baroque composer and organist, and the son of Hieronymus Praetorius. His grandfather, the father of Hieronymus, Jacob Praetorius the Elder (died 1586) w ...
)
*
Georg Dietrich Leyding
Georg Dietrich Leyding (or Leiding) (; 23 February 1664 – 10 May 1710) was a German composer and organist associated with the North German school.
Born in Bücken, close to Nienburg, his father was a riding master in the French lifeguards ...
(studied under Reincken, Buxtehude, and
Johann Theile
Johann Theile (29 July 1646 – 24 June 1724) was a German composer of the Baroque era, famous for the opera ''Adam und Eva, Der erschaffene, gefallene und aufgerichtete Mensch'', first performed in Hamburg on 2 January 1678.
Life
After stud ...
)
*
Johann Lorentz
Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...
*
Vincent Lübeck
Vincent Lübeck (c. September 1654 – 9 February 1740) was a German composer and organist. He was born in Padingbüttel and worked as organist and composer at Stade's St. Cosmae et Damiani (1675–1702) and Hamburg's famous St. Nikolai (1702–1 ...
(possibly studied under Kneller and Buxtehude)
* Heinrich Marcus
*
Johann Valentin Meder Johann Valentin Meder (baptised May 3, 1649 – July 1719) was a German composer, organist, and singer. (He is not to be confused with the German composer Johann Gabriel Meder, born in 1729 near Erfurt, and active in Amsterdam until 1800; nor is the ...
*
Peter Mohrhardt
*
Andreas Neunhaber (studied under Paul Siefert)
*
Bartholomaeus Praetorius
Bartholomaeus Praetorius (1590?–1623?) was a German composer. He was born around 1590 in Malbork in the Kingdom of Poland. He studied at the University of Königsberg and subsequently was employed by King Gustavus Adolphus in Sweden. Some o ...
*
Hieronymus Praetorius
Hieronymus Praetorius (10 August 1560 – 27 January 1629) was a Northern German composer and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque whose polychoral motets in 8 to 20 voices are intricate and vividly expressive. Some of his organ ...
(son of
Jacob Praetorius I)
*
Hieronymus (II) Praetorius
*
Hieronymus (III) Praetorius (son of
Jacob Praetorius
Jacob Praetorius or Schultz (8 February 158621 or 22 October 1651) was a German people, German Baroque composer and organist, and the son of Hieronymus Praetorius. His grandfather, the father of Hieronymus, Jacob Praetorius the Elder (died 1586) w ...
; studied under Sweelinck)
* Jacob Praetorius I (father of Hieronymus Praetorius)
* Jacob Praetorius (son of Hieronymus Praetorius, brother of
Michael (II) Praetorius and Johann Praetorius; studied under Sweelinck)
* Johann Praetorius (son of Hieronymus Praetorius, brother of Michael (II) Praetorius and Jacob Praetorius; studied under Sweelinck)
*
Michael Praetorius
Michael Praetorius (probably 28 September 1571 – 15 February 1621) was a German composer, organist, and music theorist. He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of musical forms ba ...
(born Schultze)
* Michael (II) Praetorius (son of Hieronymus Praetorius, brother of Jacob Praetorius and Johann Praetorius)
*
Johann Martin Radeck
*
Johann Adam Reinken
Johann Adam Reincken (also ''Jan Adams, Jean Adam'', ''Reinken, Reinkinck, Reincke, Reinicke, Reinike''; baptized 10 December 1643 – 24 November 1722) was a Dutch/German organist and composer. He was one of the most important composers of the ...
(studied under Scheidemann)
*
Christian Ritter
Christian Ritter (probably 1645 to 1650 – probably after 1725) was a composer and organist of the North German organ school.
Biography
Ritter was probably a pupil of Christoph Bernhard in Dresden. A notice on one of his works described him as ...
(studied under Christoph Bernhard)
*
Georg Wilhelm Saxer
*
Heinrich Scheidemann
Heinrich Scheidemann (ca. 1595 – 1663) was a German organist and composer. He was the best-known composer for the organ in north Germany in the early to mid-17th century, and was an important forerunner of Dieterich Buxtehude and J.S. Ba ...
(studied under Sweelinck)
*
Gottfried Scheidt
Gottfried Scheidt (20 September 1593 – 3 June 1661) was a German composer and organist.
Born in Halle, he moved to Amsterdam in 1611 to study with Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, returning home in 1615 to further study with his older brother Samuel ...
(studied under Sweelinck; brother to
Samuel Scheidt
Samuel Scheidt (baptised 3 November 1587 – 24 March 1654) was a German composer, organist and teacher of the early Baroque era.
Life and career
Scheidt was born in Halle, and after early studies there, he went to Amsterdam to study with ...
)
*
Samuel Scheidt
Samuel Scheidt (baptised 3 November 1587 – 24 March 1654) was a German composer, organist and teacher of the early Baroque era.
Life and career
Scheidt was born in Halle, and after early studies there, he went to Amsterdam to study with ...
(studied under Sweelinck)
*
Johann Christian Schieferdecker Johann Christian Schieferdecker (or Schiefferdecker; 16791732) was a German Baroque composer.
Schieferdecker was born in Teuchern. He became harpsichord-player at the Hamburg Opera, then succeeded Dietrich Buxtehude as organist of the Marienkirc ...
(friend to
Reinhard Keiser
Reinhard Keiser (9 January 1674 – 12 September 1739) was a German opera composer based in Hamburg. He wrote over a hundred operas. Johann Adolf Scheibe (writing in 1745) considered him an equal to Johann Kuhnau, George Frideric Handel and Georg ...
(for whom he often composed operas for the Hamburg Opera); student, assistant, and successor to Buxtehude)
*
Melchior Schildt
Melchior Schildt (born 1592 or 1593, Hanover – 18 May 1667) was a German composer and organist of the North German Organ School. He came from a long line of church musicians who had served the town of Hanover for over 125 years. He studied with ...
(studied under Sweelinck)
*
Paul Siefert
Paul Siefert (variants: Syfert, Sivert, Sibert; 23 May 1586 – 6 May 1666) was a German composer and pipe organ, organist associated with the North German school.
Biography
He was born in Danzig (Gdańsk), Royal Prussia (a fief of the Crown of ...
(studied under Sweelinck; teacher to Andreas Neunhaber and possibly Christoph Bernhard)
*
Johann Steffens
*
Delphin Strungk (studied under Sweelinck; father of
Nicolaus Adam Strungk
Nicolaus Adam Strungk (christened 15 November 1640 in Braunschweig – 23 September 1700 in Dresden) was a German composer and violinist.
Life
Nicolaus Adam was the son of the organist Delphin Strungk. He studied organ under his father, then a ...
)
*
Nicolaus Adam Strungk
Nicolaus Adam Strungk (christened 15 November 1640 in Braunschweig – 23 September 1700 in Dresden) was a German composer and violinist.
Life
Nicolaus Adam was the son of the organist Delphin Strungk. He studied organ under his father, then a ...
(son of Delphin Strungk)
*
Franz Tunder
Franz Tunder (1614 – November 5, 1667) was a German composer and organist of the early to middle Baroque era. He was an important link between the early German Baroque style which was based on Venetian models, and the later Baroque style ...
(possibly studied under Frescobaldi; father-in-law and predecessor as Organist of St. Mary's Church, Lübeck to Buxtehude)
*
Andreas Nicolaus Vetter
Andreas Nicolaus Vetter (; October 1666 – 13 June 1734) was a German organist and composer.
Biography
He was born in Herschdorf, in present-day Thuringia. In his ''Zur Geschichte des Orgelspiels'' (1884), August Gottfried Ritter gives 30, Oct. 1 ...
(studied under Pachelbel and
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 ...
)
*
Matthias Weckmann
Matthias Weckmann (''Weckman'') (''c''.1616 24 February 1674) was a German musician and composer of the Baroque period. He was born in Niederdorla (Thuringia) and died in Hamburg.
Life
His musical training took place in Dresden (as a chorister a ...
(studied under Schütz, Jacob Praetorius and Scheidemann)
*
Andreas Werckmeister
Andreas Werckmeister (November 30, 1645 – October 26, 1706) was a German organist, music theorist, and composer of the Baroque era. He was amongst the earliest advocates of equal temperament, and through this advocacy was highly influential to t ...
(possible teacher to
Johann Gottfried Walther
Johann Gottfried Walther (18 September 1684 – 23 March 1748) was a German music theorist, organist, composer, and lexicographer of the Baroque era.
Walther was born at Erfurt. Not only was his life almost exactly contemporaneous to that ...
)
*
Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow
Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow or Zachau (14 November 1663, Leipzig – 7 August 1712, Halle) was a German musician and composer of vocal and keyboard music.
Life
Zachow probably received his training from his father, the piper Heinrich Zachow, o ...
(teacher to
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...
)
South German organ school
Overview
The tradition of the south was shaped by composers who travelled to Italy or studied under Italian masters. The first important southerner was
Johann Jakob Froberger
Johann Jakob Froberger ( baptized 19 May 1616 – 7 May 1667) was a German Baroque composer, keyboard virtuoso, and organist. Among the most famous composers of the era, he was influential in developing the musical form of the suite of dances in h ...
, who visited Italy and France and cultivated Italian idioms in his
toccata
Toccata (from Italian ''toccare'', literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuo ...
s (influenced by
Girolamo Frescobaldi
Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi (; also Gerolamo, Girolimo, and Geronimo Alissandro; September 15831 March 1643) was an Italian composer and virtuoso keyboard player. Born in the Duchy of Ferrara, he was one of the most important composers of k ...
and
Giovanni de Macque
Giovanni de Macque (Giovanni de Maque, Jean de Macque) (1548/1550 – September 1614) was a Netherlandish composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque, who spent almost his entire life in Italy. He was one of the most famous Neapolitan compo ...
) and the French lutenists' ''
style brisé ''Style brisé'' (French: "broken style") is a general term for irregular arpeggiated texture in instrumental music of the Baroque period. It is commonly used in discussion of music for lute, keyboard instruments, or the viol.
The original French ...
'' in his harpsichord
suites – he was also the first to establish the standard model for the suite, which was later used by both south and north German composers. Froberger's influence was felt all over Europe and extended far into the future:
Albrechtsberger,
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
's teacher, knew and respected Froberger's work, and a copy of a part of one of his composition exists in the hand of
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
.
Froberger did not have any significant pupils, but the other important southerner,
Johann Kaspar Kerll
Johann Caspar Kerll (9 April 1627 – 13 February 1693) was a German baroque composer and organist. He is also known as Kerl, Gherl, Giovanni Gasparo Cherll and Gaspard Kerle.
Born in Adorf in the Electorate of Saxony as the son of an organis ...
, did achieve fame as a teacher and influenced numerous composers. Kerll initially studied under
Giovanni Valentini
Giovanni Valentini (ca. 1582 – 29/30 April 1649) was an Italian Baroque composer, poet and keyboard virtuoso. Overshadowed by his contemporaries, Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schütz, Valentini is practically forgotten today, although he occ ...
, an Italian composer who worked in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
; he then travelled to Italy and visited many more regions of Europe. Kerll's influence was perhaps short-lived compared to Froberger's (the most important fact here being
Händel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
's frequent borrowing from Kerll's work), but he was a model (perhaps even taught) for the Nuremberg-born
Johann Pachelbel
Johann Pachelbel (baptised – buried 9 March 1706; also Bachelbel) was a German composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secularity, secular music, and h ...
, whose work is the highest point of the south German tradition.
Typical south German organs differed from their northern counterparts and could have only a dozen or two of stops, sometimes a single manual and, occasionally, no pedal; much like many Italian instruments. The music of south German composers on the whole concentrates more on melody, harmonic clarity and sound; genre-wise, Italian models were adopted and resulted in German versions of the
toccata
Toccata (from Italian ''toccare'', literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuo ...
, a special brand of improvisatory preludes, and
ostinato
In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...
variation forms:
chaconne
A chaconne (; ; es, chacona, links=no; it, ciaccona, links=no, ; earlier English: ''chacony'') is a type of musical composition often used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short rep ...
s and
passacaglia
The passacaglia (; ) is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used today by composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre.
Origin
The ter ...
s. Perhaps the last significant southerner was
Johann Heinrich Buttstett
Johann Heinrich Buttstett (also ''Buttstedt'', ''Buttstädt'') (25 April 1666 – December 1, 1727) was a German Baroque organist and composer. Although he was Johann Pachelbel's most important pupil and one of the last major exponents of the sou ...
, Pachelbel's pupil, who continued the trends set by his teacher but did not achieve any considerable fame; it appears that numerous works by him are now lost.
List of composers
*
Christian Erbach
Christian Erbach (ca. 1568 – 14 June 1635) was a German organist and composer.
Erbach was born in Gau-Algesheim, Mainz-Bingen, now in the Rhineland-Palatinate Bundesland, and began to study musical composition at a considerably young age. Aside ...
(ca. 1568 – 14 June 1635 in Augsburg)
*
Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer
__NOTOC__
)
, baptised = ( cs, }), Royal Bohemia, Austria
, death_date =
, death_place = Rastatt, Margravial Baden
, occupations = organist, composer,
, flourished =
, era = Baroque
, known_for = bringing many French elements through ...
(c. 1656 – 1746; active in Rastadt, Baden), studied in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
*
Johann Jakob Froberger
Johann Jakob Froberger ( baptized 19 May 1616 – 7 May 1667) was a German Baroque composer, keyboard virtuoso, and organist. Among the most famous composers of the era, he was influential in developing the musical form of the suite of dances in h ...
(1616 – 7 May 1667; studied under
Frescobaldi
The Frescobaldi are a prominent Florentine noble family that have been involved in the political, social, and economic history of Tuscany since the Middle Ages. Originating in the Val di Pesa in the Chianti, they appear holding important posts ...
in Italy, active in Stuttgart and Vienna)
*
Johann Kaspar Kerll
Johann Caspar Kerll (9 April 1627 – 13 February 1693) was a German baroque composer and organist. He is also known as Kerl, Gherl, Giovanni Gasparo Cherll and Gaspard Kerle.
Born in Adorf in the Electorate of Saxony as the son of an organis ...
(1627 – 1693; studied under
Valentini, then under
Carissimi
(Gian) Giacomo Carissimi (; baptized 18 April 160512 January 1674) was an Italian composer and music teacher. He is one of the most celebrated masters of the early Baroque or, more accurately, the Roman School of music. Carissimi established the c ...
and possibly Frescobaldi; active in Munich and Vienna)
*
Johann Erasmus Kindermann
Johann Erasmus Kindermann (29 March 1616 – 14 April 1655) was a German Baroque organist and composer. He was the most important composer of the Nuremberg school in the first half of the 17th century.
Life
Kindermann was born in Nuremberg and ...
( 1616 – 1655; studied under
Johann Staden
Johann Staden (baptized 2 July 1581 – 15 November 1634) was a German Baroque organist and composer. He is best known for establishing the so-called ''Nuremberg School''.
Life
He was the son of Hans Staden and Elisabeth Löbelle. The exact ...
, active Nuremberg)
*
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 importa ...
(1651 – 1735; active Nuremberg and Zitau), studied under
Heinrich Schwemmer
Heinrich Schwemmer (28 March 1621 – 31 May 1696) was a German music teacher and composer.
He was born in Gumpertshausen bei Hallburg, Lower Franconia, and moved with his mother to Weimar after his father’s death in 1627, to get away from ...
and
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 ...
*
Johann Philipp Krieger
Johann Philipp Krieger (also ''Kriger'', ''Krüger'', ''Krugl'', and ''Giovanni Filippo Kriegher''; baptised 27 February 1649; died 7 February 1725) was a German people, German Baroque composer and organist. He was the elder brother of Johann Krieg ...
(1649 – 1725; active Nuremberg, Halle & Weißenfels), studied under
Johann Drechsel,
Gabriel Schütz, and
Johann Rosenmüller
Johann Rosenmüller (1619 – 10 September 1684) was a German Baroque composer, who played a part in transmitting Italian musical styles to the north.
Career
Rosenmüller was born in Oelsnitz, near Plauen in Saxony. He studied at the University ...
)
*
Christian Michael (c. 1593 - 29 August 1637 Leipzig)
*
Georg Muffat
Georg Muffat (1 June 1653 – 23 February 1704) was a Baroque composer and organist. He is best known for the remarkably articulate and informative performance directions printed along with his collections of string pieces ''Florilegium Primum'' a ...
(studied under
Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...
in Paris, then with
Pasquini and
Corelli in Italy)
*
Franz Xaver Murschhauser
Franz Xaver Anton Murschhauser (1 July 1663 – 6 January 1738) was a German composer and theorist.
He was born in Saverne, Alsace, but he is first mentioned as a singer and instrumentalist at St Peter's School in Munich, in 1676. He studied mu ...
(1663 – 1738; active in Munich), studied under Kerll
*
Johann Pachelbel
Johann Pachelbel (baptised – buried 9 March 1706; also Bachelbel) was a German composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secularity, secular music, and h ...
(studied under Wecker and Schwemmer and possibly Kerll)
*
Wilhelm Hieronymus Pachelbel
Wilhelm Hieronymus Pachelbel (baptized 29 August 1686 – 1764) was a German composer and organist, the elder son of Johann Pachelbel.
He was born in Erfurt and spent the first four years of his life there. The Pachelbel family moved to Stuttgar ...
(studied under his father Johann)
*
Paul Peuerl Paul Peuerl (also ''Bäurl, Beuerlin, Bäwerl, Agricola, Peyerl''; 13 June 1570 (baptised), in Stuttgart – after 1625) was a German organist, organ builder, renovator and repairer, and composer of instrumental music.
From November 1601 he was o ...
(1570 in Stuttgart – disappeared from Upper Austria after 1625)
*
Isaac Posch (died 1623 in
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
)
*
Ferdinand Tobias Richter
Ferdinand Tobias Richter (22 July 1651 – 3 November 1711) was an Austrian Baroque composer and organist.
Richter was born in Würzburg. From 1675 to 1679 he served as organist at Heiligenkreuz Abbey in southern Austria. In 1683 he moved t ...
(1651 – 1711; active in Lower Austria and Vienna)
*
Sebastian Anton Scherer (1631 – 1712; active in Ulm)
*
Heinrich Schwemmer
Heinrich Schwemmer (28 March 1621 – 31 May 1696) was a German music teacher and composer.
He was born in Gumpertshausen bei Hallburg, Lower Franconia, and moved with his mother to Weimar after his father’s death in 1627, to get away from ...
(teacher to
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 importa ...
,
Johann Löhner, Johann Pachelbel,
J.B. Schütz, and
Maximilian Zeidler
Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name.
The name " Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names.
List of people
Monarchs
*Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459 ...
)
*
Johann Speth
Johann (''Johannes'') Speth (9 November 1664 – after 1719) was a German organist and composer. He was born in Speinshart, some 150 km from Nuremberg, but spent most of his life in Augsburg, where he worked as cathedral organist for two ...
(1664 – after 1719; active in Augburg)
*
Johann Staden
Johann Staden (baptized 2 July 1581 – 15 November 1634) was a German Baroque organist and composer. He is best known for establishing the so-called ''Nuremberg School''.
Life
He was the son of Hans Staden and Elisabeth Löbelle. The exact ...
(1581 – 1634; active Nuremberg and Dresden), teacher to Kindermann
*
Agostino Steffani
Agostino Steffani (25 July 165412 February 1728) was an Italian ecclesiastic, diplomat and composer.
Biography
Steffani was born at Castelfranco Veneto on 25 July 1654. As a boy he was admitted as a chorister at San Marco, Venice. In 1667, ...
(studied under Kerll)
*
Christoph Stoltzenberg (studied under Deinl)
*
Christoph Strauss
Christoph Straus (1575–1631) was an Austrian composer, Cantor (church), cantor and organist. His church music includes polyphonic pieces and polychoral Mass (music), Masses, including a notable Music for the Requiem Mass, Requiem for high and l ...
(1575–1631; active Vienna)
*
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 ...
(studied under Kindermann; teacher to Johann Krieger and Pachelbel)
[Taken 19 May 2011 from http://www.hoasm.org/VIB/VIBClavierOrganLute.html]
See also
*
French organ school The French organ school formed in the first half of the 17th century. It progressed from the strict polyphonic music of Jean Titelouze (c. 1563–1633) to a unique, richly ornamented style with its own characteristic forms that made full use of ...
References
* Hans Tischler, Willi Apel. "The History of Keyboard Music to 1700". 1972 Indiana University Press.
* John Caldwell. "Keyboard music (I)", ''
Grove Music Online
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'', ed. L. Macy
grovemusic.com (subscription access).
{{Pipe organs
German music history
Baroque music
Pipe organ