Page:Pratt - The history of music (1907).djvu/211



(from 1594) and various dances, together with a Passion (1620) and popular text-books for singing (1592, 1607).

Melchior Franck (d. 1639), from 1603 choirmaster at Coburg, was also prodigiously fertile and a notable master of melody, with church music, both harmonic and contrapuntal (from 1601), a Choralbuch (1631), secular songs, part-songs and dances—all in a style attractive to a modern taste.

Erhard Bodenschatz (d. 1636), pastor near Eisleben, edited invaluable collections of Protestant motets (1603-21) and of chorales (1608), besides writing some works of his own.

Michael Prätorius (d. 1621), from 1604 choirmaster at Wolfenbüttel, was a gifted and prolific composer in many styles, besides being an author of capital importance. His sacred music (from 1605) includes numerous motets, psalms and other choir-pieces, some polychoric for as many as 30 voices, with numbers of chorales and songs, besides secular works, both vocal and instrumental. His Musæ Sioniæ (1605-10) is a gigantic collection of religious part-songs, some original. His style was eclectic, ranging from the purely polyphonic to concertistic solo-writing, and richly illustrates the lines of progress going on in Germany. (For his literary work, see sec. 113.) Prätorius was a personal friend of Schütz, as well as his artistic relative.

Johann Staden (d. 1634), from 1609 organist at Bayreuth and from 1616 at Nuremberg, wrote varied sacred and secular works (from 1606), including many part-songs and dances, evincing power as a harmonist.

Johann Hermann Schein (d. 1630), early a choirboy at Dresden and a law-student at Leipsic, was from 1616 cantor of the Thomasschule there. His smooth, melodious and masterly style was shown in a vast number of vocal and instrumental works (from 1609), including many concertato pieces for many parts and a notable Choralbuch (1627). His genius was so superior in every way that he, with Schütz of Dresden and Scheldt of Halle (see secs. 96, 106), were called 'the three great S's' of the century.

Christoph Thomas Walliser (d. 1648) was professor and musical director at Strassburg, with varied vocal works (from 1602), including incidental music for student-plays, besides theoretical books.

Johann Crüger (d. 1662), variously educated by study and travel, was from 1622 cantor of the Nikolaikirche at Berlin. Besides being important as a theorist, he was famous as the editor of hundreds of choir-pieces and chorales (from 1619) and of Choralbücher (1644), adding works of his own.

Thomas Selle (d. 1663), from 1637 cantor at Hamburg, was a fertile writer of part-music in the Italian style (from 1624), largely secular, but including sacred songs by Rist and a quantity of motets and madrigals (in MS.).

Less important, perhaps, though also productive, were Melchior Vulpius (d. 1615), from 1602 cantor at Weimar, with varied works (from 1602), including a Passion (1613), chorales and settings of the Gospel pericopes; Johann Stobæus (d. 1646), a pupil of Eccard, cantor at Königsberg from 1602, with some finely wrought motets (from 1624) and festal choral works; Michael Altenburg (d. 1640), pastor at Erfurt from 1608, with a Passion (1608) and choir-pieces (1613-21), often many-voiced; Johann Schop (d. c. 1665), an accomplished player on the violin, lute and wind instruments, who was at the Danish court from 1618 and town-musician at Hamburg from 1621, a composer