Resinarius, Balthasar

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Resinarius, Balthasar

Resinarius, Balthasar , significant German composer; b. Tetschen, Bohemia, c. 1485; d. Böhmisch-Leipa, April 12, 1544. He sang and studied under Heinrich Isaac at the court chapel of Emperor Maximilian I. He enrolled at the Univ. of Leipzig (1515). Although he became a Catholic priest in Tetschen (1523), he soon espoused Lutheranism and was made bishop of Leipa. He was one of the most important early Protestant composers of sacred music. His works were commissioned by Rhau, who included them in his own publications. Among Resinarius’s output are 80 responsories and the St. John Passion (Wittenberg, 1544), 30 chorale settings (1544), 3 motets (1545), an introit (1545), and 10 hymns.

Bibliography

I.-M. Schröder, Die Responsorienvertonungen des B. R. (Kassel, 1954).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire