Page:Pratt - The history of music (1907).djvu/233



Sweelinck's greater pupils include the following:—

Samuel Scheidt (d. 1654), born at Halle in 1587, where, after his study with the Dutch master, he became in 1609 court-organist at the Moritzkirche and for a time choirmaster as well, continuing till his death almost half a century later. His works were largely vocal, but included the much-lauded Tabulatura nova (1624), sinfonie (1644), and chorale-preludes, etc. (1650), which show him to be one of the founders of the art of chorale-elaboration that replaced the older 'colorist' style. He was not so daring an innovator as his close contemporary Frescobaldi, nor perhaps as great a genius as his followers thought him, but his eminence is unquestionable. His traditional place as one of 'the three S's' (with Schütz of Dresden and Schein of Leipsic, all three being nearly of an age) is, however, probably due to his success with vocal works.

Jakob Prätorius (d. 1651), the son of Hieronymus (see sec. 62), though born in 1586 at Erfurt, was brought up at Hamburg, where, after studying with Sweelinck, he was from 1603 for almost 50 years organist of the Petrikirche. His virtuosity was famous, but little is known of his compositions.

Heinrich Scheidemann (d. 1663?) came of a family of organists at Hamburg, and, after being trained by his father and by Sweelinck (at the city's expense), he succeeded the former at the Katharinenkirche in 1625, remaining till his death. Most of his works are lost, except a few settings of poems by Rist (1651) and some scattered pieces, but laudatory references to his skill are preserved, and he taught Reinken, his more famous successor, and Fabricius of Leipsic.

Melchior Schildt (d. 1667) is sometimes called Sweelinck's best pupil. After brief terms of service at Wolfenbüttel from 1623 and at Copenhagen from 1626, he was from 1629 at the Marktkirche at Hanover. His style is said to have been peculiarly expressive, but his extant works (from 1642) are meagre.

Paul Siefert (d. 1666), born at Danzig, after working with Sweelinck, was in the Royal Chapel of Poland for some years. Returning to Danzig, he became organist in 1623 at the Marienkirche, being succeeded at his death by Ewald Hirsch, a pupil of Froberger. Besides some MS. organ-pieces, his only known works are two sets of Psalms (1640, '51), the first of which was the occasion of a sharp attack by Marco Scacchi (d. before 1685), royal choirmaster of Poland, to which Siefert replied in 1645. If traditions are right, Siefert was opinionated and quarrelsome.

Delphin Strunck (d. 1694), born in 1601, was organist at Wolfenbüttel in 1630-2, then at Celle, and from 1639 at the Martinikirche in Brunswick. A few chorale-preludes of his remain, showing the beginnings of the line-by-line treatment that was frequent later.

Franz Tunder (d. 1667), born in 1614 and a pupil of Frescobaldi, was from 1641 at the Marienkirche at Lübeck. From him we have a few chorale-elaborations and some motets with accompaniment.

Johann Martin Rubert (d. 1680), also born in 1614 at Nuremberg, studied at Hamburg and Leipsic, and in 1640 became organist at the Nikolaikirche at Stralsund. His style is said to have been dignified and even austere, but no organ-works of his are now known, though we have part-songs, violin-duets and short cantatas (from 1645). Contemporary with him at Stralsund in the