Valentin Haussmann ( – ) was a German composer, music editor and poet,
[ ] known from the publications of his compositions, derived from Italian and Polish models.
Life
Little is known of Haussmann's life, and information is ascertained from the titles, prefaces and dedications of his printed works.
He published compositions between 1588 and 1611,
and was very active from 1602 to 1606. He appended "Gerbipola" (a Latinized form of
Gerbstedt, a town in
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...
) to his name, so this is assumed to be his home town.
[
It is thought he did not have a permanent position anywhere, but travelled throughout Germany, composing in various places works which he dedicated to princes and towns. There are many songs in German that are derived from Italian canzonettas, and there is instrumental music where he uses the melodies and rhythms of Polish folk music.][ In later years, from 1606 to 1609, he published, with German translations, villanellas by Luca Marenzio, canzonettas by Orazio Vecchi, ]tricinia
In music of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras, a bicinium (pl. bicinia) was a composition for only two parts, especially one for the purpose of teaching counterpoint or singing.
The term has had two usages in music history:
# Recently, the ...
by Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi and ballets by Thomas Morley
Thomas Morley (1557 – early October 1602) was an English composer, theorist, singer and organist of the Renaissance. He was one of the foremost members of the English Madrigal School. Referring to the strong Italian influence on the Engl ...
.[
His publications were evidently popular, since collections went through several editions within a few years.][
His biographer in '' Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (1880) wrote: "... He is the real mediator between the Italian canzonetta and the German ]Lied
In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French sp ...
. From the former he took the grace and accomplished manner of expression, and combined it with the German intimacy and heartiness, and thereby achieved in this genre a perfection that we do not come across again in any composer before or after him. But we must not overlook that as a result he indeed lost some depth, and did not reach as far as a Hassler
Hassler (also Haßler, Häßler, Hässler, Hasler, ...) is a toponymic surname derived from a number of places called Hasel or Hassel in German-speaking parts of Europe.
Notable people with this name include:
Musicians
*A musical dynasty in Nur ...
in his love songs, much less surpass."[
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haussmann, Valentin
1611 deaths
16th-century German composers
17th-century German composers