Praetorius, Michael
Praetorius, Michael
Praetorius, Michael , great German composer, organist, and music theorist, nephew of Christoph Praetorius; b. Creuzburg an der Werra, Thuringia, Feb. 15, 1571; d. Wolfenbüttel, Feb. 15, 1621. The surname of the family was Schultheiss (sometimes rendered as Schultze), which he Latinized as Praetorius. He was the son of a Lutheran pastor. He studied with Michael Voigt, the cantor of the Torgau Lateinschule. In 1582 he entered the Univ. of Frankfurt an der Oder, and in 1584 continued his studies at the Lateinschule in Zerbst, Anhalt. From 1587 to 1590 he was organist of St. Marien in Frankfurt. In 1595 he entered the service of Duke Heinrich Julius of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel as an organist. In 1604 he also assumed the duties of court Kapellmeister. Upon the death of his patron in 1613, the Elector Johann Georg of Saxony obtained his services as deputy Kapellmeister at the Dresden court. He retained his Dresden post until 1616, and then resumed his duties in Wolfenbüttel. Praetorius devoted only a part of his time to Wolfenbuttel, for he had been named Kapellmeister to the administrator of the Magdeburg bishopric and prior of the monastery at Ringelheim in 1614. He also traveled a great deal, visiting various German cities. These factors, coupled with a general decline in his health, led to the decision not to reappoint him to his Wolfenbuttel post in 1620. He died the following year a wealthy man. Deeply religious, he directed that the greater portion of his fortune go to organizing a foundation for the poor. Praetorius was one of the most important and prolific German composers of his era. His Musae Sioniae, a significant collection of over 1, 200 settings of Lutheran chorales, is a particularly valuable source for hymnology. A complete ed. of his works was prepared by F. Blume (21 vols., Wolfenbüttel, 1928–40).
Works
(all publ. in Wolfenbüttel unless otherwise given): Musae Sionae…geistliche Concert Gesänge über die fürnembste deutsche Psalmen und Lieder…erster Theil for 8 Voices (Regensburg, 1605); Sacrarum motectarum primitiae for 4 to 16 Voices (Magdeburg, 1606; not extant); Musarum Sioniarum motestae et psalmi latini for 4 to 16 Voices (Nuremberg, 1607; this may be the 2nd ed. of the preceding); Musaie Sioniae…geistliche Concert Gesänge über die fürnembste deutsche Psalmen und Lieder…ander Theil for 8 ed . ofthe preceding); Musaie Sioniae…geistliche Concert Gesänge…dritter Theil for 8, 9, and 12 Voices (Helmstedt, 1607); Musaie Sionae…geistliche Concert Gesänge…vierdter Theil for 8 Voices (Helmstedt, 1607); Musae Sioniae…geistlicher deutscher…üblicher Lieder und Psalmen…fünfter Theil for 2 to 8 Voices (1607); Musae Sioniae…deutscher geistlicher…üblicher Psalmen und Lieder…sechster Theil for 4 Voices (1609); Musae Sioniae…deutscher geistlicher…üblicher Psalmen und Lieder…siebender Theil for 4 Voices (1609); Musae Sioniae…deutscher geistlicher…Lieder und Psalmen…in Contrapuncto simplici…gesetzet…achter Theil for 4 Voices (1610; 2nd ed., 1612, as Ferner Continuierung der geistlichen Lieder und Psalmen); Musaie Sioniae…deutscher geistlicher…Psalmen und Lieder…auf Muteten, Madrigalische und sonsten eine andere…Art…gesetzet…neundter Theil for 2 and 3 Voices (1610; 2nded., 1611, as Bicinia und Tricinia); Eulogodia Sionia for 2 to 8 Voices (1611); Hymnodia Sionia for 3 to 8 Voices (1611; with 4 works for Organ); Megalynodia Sionia for 5 to 8 Voices (1611); Missodia Sionia for 2 to 8 Voices (1611); Kleine und Grosse Litaney for 5 to 8 Voices (1613); Urania, oder Urano-Chorodia for 2 to 4 Choirs (1613); Epithalamium: dem…Fursten…Friedrich Ulrichen, Herzogen zu Braunschweig for 17 Voices and Basso Continuo (1stperf., Sept. 4, 1614); Concertgesang…dem…Fursten…Mauritio, Landgrafen zu Hessen for 2 to 16 Voices and Basso Continuo (1st perf., June 26, 1617); Polyhymnia caduceatrix et panegyrica for 1 to 21 Voices and Basso Continuo (1619); Polyhymnia exercitatrix seu tyrocinium for 2 to 8 Voices and Basso Continuo (Frankfurt am Main, 1619); Puernicinium…darinne 14 teutsche Kirchenlieder und anderere Concert-Gesänge for 3 to 14 Voices (Frankfurt am Main, 1621). He also publ. a collection of French instrumental dances under the title Terpsichore, musarum aoniarum quinta a 4 to 6 1621).
Writings
Syntagma musicum, his major achievement, was publ. in 3 vols, as follows: Syntagmatis musicitomus primus (Wittenberg and Wolfenbüttel, 1614–15; reprint, 1959), a historical and descriptive treatise in Latin on ancient and ecclesiastical music, and ancient secular instruments; Syntagmatis musici tomus secundus (Wolfenbüttel, 1618; 2nd ed., 1619; reprint, 1958, with an appendix, Theatrum instrumentorum, Wolfenbüttel, 1620; reprint, 1958), in German, a most important source of information on musical instruments of the period, describing their form, compass, tone quality, etc.; the organ is treated at great length, and the appendix contains 42 woodcuts of the principal instruments enumerated; Syntagmatis musici tomus tertius (Wolfenbüttel, 1618; 2nd ed., 1619; reprint, 1958), a valuable and interesting account of secular composition of the period, with a treatise on solmisation, notation, etc.
Bibliography
W. Gurlitt, M. P. (Creuzburgensis): Sein Leben und seine Werke (Leipzig, 1915); F. Blume, Das monodische Prinzip in der protestantischen Kirchenmusik (Leipzig, 1925); idem, M. P. Creuzburgensis (Wolfenbüttel, 1929); R. Unger, Die mehrchörige Aufführungspraxis bei M. P. und die Feiergestaltung der Gegenwart (Wolfenbüttel, 1941); G. Ilgner, Die lateinischen liturgischen Kompositionen von M. P. Creuzburgensis (Kiel, 1944); R. Fay, The Vocal Style of M. P. (diss., Univ. of Rochester, N.Y., 1946); A. Forcherts, Das Spätwerk des M. P. (Berlin, 1959); L. Abraham, Der Generalbass im Schaffen des M. P. (Berlin, 1961); K. Gudewill and H. Haase, M. P. Creutzbergensis 1571 (?-1612): Zwei Beiträge su seinem und seiner Kapelle Jubiläumsjahr (Wolfenbüttel, 1971); S. Vogelsänger, M. P. beim Wort genommen: Zur Entstehungsgeschichte seiner Werke (Aachen, 1987); idem, M. P., “Diener vieler Herren:” Daten und Deutungen (Aachen, 1991); D. Möller-Weiser, Untersuchungen zum I. Band des Syntagma Musicum von M. P. (Kassel, 1993).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire