Leonhardt Schröter (c. 1532 – c. 1601) was a German Renaissance choirmaster, teacher, and composer at

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

Biography

Leonhardt (alternatively spelled "Leonhard" or "Leonhart") Schröter (or Schroeter) was born in

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies first met near ...

. His education began in Torgau where one of his teachers was

Johann Walter Johann Walter, also known as ''Johann Walther'' or ''Johannes Walter'' (original name: ''Johann Blankenmüller'') (1496 – 25 March 1570), was a Lutheran composer and poet during the Reformation period. Life Walter was born in Kahla, in present- ...

. His subsequent education included schools at

Annaberg-Buchholz Annaberg-Buchholz () is a town in Saxony, in eastern Germany. Lying in the Ore Mountains, it is the capital of the district of Erzgebirgskreis. Geography The town is located in the Ore Mountains, at the side of the ''Pöhlberg'' ( above sea le ...

and following at the

Meissen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...

ducal school. By at least 1561 until 1571, he occupied the position of town ''Kantor'' (director of church music) in

Saalfeld Saalfeld () is a town in Germany, capital of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. It is best known internationally as the ancestral seat of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the Saxon House of Wettin. Geography The town is situated ...

. He was removed from this position because of his Philippist sympathies, whereupon he became

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

for the

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

court. He was restored to his position at Saalfeld two years later. Sometime later, he was hired to teach at the Old City School in Magdeburg. His last and most prestigious post was as Kantor at the Alstadt Lateinschule in Magdeburg. He is thought to have died sometime around the year 1601, based on an inscription in

Friedrich Weissensee Friedrich Weißensee (c. 1560 in Schwerstedt, Thüringen – 1622, Altenweddingen bei Magdeburg) was a German composer and Protestant minister. Alongside his contemporaries Christoph Demantius, Michael Praetorius and Melchior Vulpius, he was on ...

’s “Opus Melicum” from 1602, which describes Schröter's recent death.

Works

Schröter composed carols, hymns, motets, a passion, psalms, and a Te Deum which date from 1571 to 1587. He also composed several part-songs dating from 1562, which have been noted for their contrapuntal ability. His style has been described as having the “greatest simplicity”, but also the “highest grandeur,” simultaneously simple and sublime. He employed Reformation polyphony in his chorale settings, and also homophony, most notably in his eight-voice double-choir settings. His choral settings of psalms, while not numerous, are considered an "important contribution" to the Protestant motet tradition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schroter, Leonhardt 1530s births 1600s deaths People from Torgau German male classical composers German librarians German Renaissance composers