February 15, 2016.Michael Praetorius.Considering the major role Germany has played in the history of European music from the 18th century to our time, it comes as a surprise that its’ role was not as prominent during the Renaissance.Martin Luther, the great theologian and reformer, composed a number of hymns (he also said that “Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world”), and there were many musicians working at the courts of German princes and margraves, but none of them were on the same level as the great composers of Flanders or Italy.That is, till Michael Praetorius who was born Michael Schultze (Praetorius is the Latinized version of his family name, which means “judge”) in Creuzburg, on February 15th of 1571.Creuzburg, a small town in Thuringia, lies less than six miles away from Eisenach, where Luther translated the Bible into German and where Bach was born in 1675.In 1573 the family moved to Torgau, Saxony, where Michael took musical classes from a local cantor.He went to the University of Frankfurt an der Oder and later attended a Latin School in Zerbst.Even though we know nothing about his musical education, clearly he was studying music, as sometime around 1587, when Praetorius was 16, he was appointed organist at Marienkirche, the oldest in Frankfurt. An interesting story is related to the church: it had famous gothic stained glass windows with 117 different images, created around 1360.In the middle of WWII the windows were removed and stored for protection in the Sanssouci palace in Potsdam.After the war, together with so much other loot, the windows were sent to Russia and disappeared there without a trace.They resurfaced 1997 in the storage of the Hermitage.Surprisingly, the Russian government agreed to return them to Germany, one of the very few pieces of art that ever were.
Sometime around 1595 Praetorius entered the service of Duke Heinrich Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbütte.The Duke was interested in arts (although he also enjoyed persecuting Jews and witches); he even invited John Dowland, the famous English composer, to Wolfenbütte to meet with Praetorius.It seems that the Duke was very fond of Praetorius as he took him along on many of his journeys, to Prague, for example, to the court at Hesse and many other places.These travels helped to spread Praetorius’s fame: in 1613, when the Duke died, Praetorius was immediately invited by the Elector Johann Georg of Saxony to Dresden, to become a deputy to the Kapellmeister.The court of the Elector was one of the finest in all of Germany; there Praetorius met the younger Heinrich Schütz and also many Italian musicians, who strongly affected his musical style.His duties in Dresden were over by 1616, but by then Praetorius was the most famous composer in Germany and was receiving invitations from all over the land\.We know that he worked as the Kapellmeister in Magdeburg, then was invited by the Landgrave Moritz of Hesse, a great lover of music, to Kassel.He also worked in Leipzig, Nuremberg and Bayreuth.The last years of his life he suffered of ill health; Praetorius returned to Wolfenbüttel in 1620 and died there on February 15th of 1621.
Praetorius was phenomenally productive.He compiled twelve hundred chorales into nine volumes he titled Musae Sioniae and more than 300 dances into a collection called Terpsichore.Praetorius, who spoke several languages and was one of the most learned musicians of his generation, also wrote a number of theoretical treaties on music.Here’s one of his earlier hymns, Puer natus in Bethlehem. Huelgas Enselmble is conducted by Paul van Nevel.And here’s an excerpt from one of his last compositions, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Awake, calls the voice to us), the first section of his collection Polyhymnia Caduceatrix & Panegyrica.You can clearly hear Italian influences.Musica Fiata and La Capella Ducale are conducted by Robert Wilson.
Michael Praetorius, 2016
February 15, 2016. Michael Praetorius. Considering the major role Germany has played in the history of European music from the 18th century to our time, it comes as a surprise that its’ role was not as prominent during the Renaissance. Martin Luther, the great theologian and reformer, composed a number of hymns (he also said that “Next to the Word of God, the noble
art of music is the greatest treasure in the world”), and there were many musicians working at the courts of German princes and margraves, but none of them were on the same level as the great composers of Flanders or Italy. That is, till Michael Praetorius who was born Michael Schultze (Praetorius is the Latinized version of his family name, which means “judge”) in Creuzburg, on February 15th of 1571. Creuzburg, a small town in Thuringia, lies less than six miles away from Eisenach, where Luther translated the Bible into German and where Bach was born in 1675. In 1573 the family moved to Torgau, Saxony, where Michael took musical classes from a local cantor. He went to the University of Frankfurt an der Oder and later attended a Latin School in Zerbst. Even though we know nothing about his musical education, clearly he was studying music, as sometime around 1587, when Praetorius was 16, he was appointed organist at Marienkirche, the oldest in Frankfurt. An interesting story is related to the church: it had famous gothic stained glass windows with 117 different images, created around 1360. In the middle of WWII the windows were removed and stored for protection in the Sanssouci palace in Potsdam. After the war, together with so much other loot, the windows were sent to Russia and disappeared there without a trace. They resurfaced 1997 in the storage of the Hermitage. Surprisingly, the Russian government agreed to return them to Germany, one of the very few pieces of art that ever were.
Sometime around 1595 Praetorius entered the service of Duke Heinrich Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbütte. The Duke was interested in arts (although he also enjoyed persecuting Jews and witches); he even invited John Dowland, the famous English composer, to Wolfenbütte to meet with Praetorius. It seems that the Duke was very fond of Praetorius as he took him along on many of his journeys, to Prague, for example, to the court at Hesse and many other places. These travels helped to spread Praetorius’s fame: in 1613, when the Duke died, Praetorius was immediately invited by the Elector Johann Georg of Saxony to Dresden, to become a deputy to the Kapellmeister. The court of the Elector was one of the finest in all of Germany; there Praetorius met the younger Heinrich Schütz and also many Italian musicians, who strongly affected his musical style. His duties in Dresden were over by 1616, but by then Praetorius was the most famous composer in Germany and was receiving invitations from all over the land\. We know that he worked as the Kapellmeister in Magdeburg, then was invited by the Landgrave Moritz of Hesse, a great lover of music, to Kassel. He also worked in Leipzig, Nuremberg and Bayreuth. The last years of his life he suffered of ill health; Praetorius returned to Wolfenbüttel in 1620 and died there on February 15th of 1621.
Praetorius was phenomenally productive. He compiled twelve hundred chorales into nine volumes he titled Musae Sioniae and more than 300 dances into a collection called Terpsichore. Praetorius, who spoke several languages and was one of the most learned musicians of his generation, also wrote a number of theoretical treaties on music. Here’s one of his earlier hymns, Puer natus in Bethlehem. Huelgas Enselmble is conducted by Paul van Nevel. And here’s an excerpt from one of his last compositions, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Awake, calls the voice to us), the first section of his collection Polyhymnia Caduceatrix & Panegyrica. You can clearly hear Italian influences. Musica Fiata and La Capella Ducale are conducted by Robert Wilson.