Demantius, (Johannes) Christoph

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Demantius, (Johannes) Christoph

Demantius, (Johannes) Christoph , German composer; b. Reichenberg, Dec. 15, 1567; d. Freiberg, Saxony, April 20, 1643. He became cantor at Zittau in 1597, and was at Freiberg from 1604 to 1643. A prolific composer of sacred and secular music, he ranks with Hassler, M. and H. Pratorius, and Eccard. He wrote Deutsche Passion, nach dem Evangelisten S. lohanne (1631; ed. and publ. by F. Blume, 1934), Triades precum vespertinarum (1602), etc. He was the author of an instruction book, Isagoge artis musicae (Nuremberg, 1605; 10th ed., 1671).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire