Wolfgang Caspar Printz (10 October 1641 – 13 October 1717), normally referred to as Wolfgang Printz (with sometimes the variation of Kaspar), was a German composer who studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and was appointed

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

at Promnitz, Treibel and Sorau. His ''Historische Beschreibung der edlen Sing- und Klingkunst...von Anfang der Welt bis auf unserer Zeit'' (which in English means: ''Historical description of the noble art of singing and instrumental music ... from the beginning of the world until our time'') was the first history of music written in Germany.

Life

Printz was the son of a forester in Oberpfalz. He had hardly any training before he enrolled in 1659 in Altdorf, near Nuremberg. A musical aptitude is likely but undocumented. He broke the undefined Altdorfer study time and soon abandoned it to work as a tutor. This employment limited his ability to travel. At the age of 21 in 1662 he moved to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

, where he became ''Kapellmeister'' at the court of the arts-friendly

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

n magnate Count Erdmann I. He traveled with his new employer, even to Bohemian and Hungarian military camps. After the count's death in 1664 he accepted a position as cantor at the Sorau church, started a family and spent the next 52 years as a composer and musicologicist. Similar to

Johann Kuhnau Johann Kuhnau (; 6 April 16605 June 1722) was a German polymath, known primarily as a composer today. He was also active as a novelist, translator, lawyer, and music theorist, and was able to combine these activities with his duties in his offici ...

, he released several popular musical compositions alongside novels. Under

Erdmann II of Promnitz Erdmann II, Count von Promnitz (born 22 August 1683 in Sorau, Electorate of Saxony (now Żary, Poland); died: 7 September 1745 at the forest castle near Żary) was Lord of Żary (german: Sorau) and Trzebiel (german: Triebel) in Lower Lusatia, an ...

he again took over the management of the court orchestra, until succeeded by the young

Georg Philipp Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesh ...

in 1704. His musical oeuvre has largely disappeared, but his historical description still offers useful information on contemporary composers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Printz, Wolfgang Caspar 1641 births 1717 deaths German Baroque composers 18th-century classical composers German male classical composers 18th-century German composers 18th-century German male musicians