Famous composers and their works, Vol. 3

by Unknown

The folk-songs had great influence, as we have seen, on the melodic invention of composers of the Reformation. Other influences were potent, however, in determining the various forms of composition. The development of counterpoint in the Netherlands, and the higher a capella church style in Italy, were important for Germany. Attempts were made to treat secular melodies in the elaborate style of the Netherlanders, with the melody in the tenor, accompanied by several contrapuntal parts.

Heinrich Isaak, who was a member of the choir of the Emperor Maximilian from 1493 to 1519, enjoyed Italian training, and wrote sacred and secular music in the prevailing Flemish style. He won for himself the title of the “German Orpheus.” His contemporary, Heinrich Finck, was likewise famous and beloved. Also Stephan Mahu, a singer in the choir of Ferdinand I., was of the same school, and wrote motets and “lamentations” in a simple but sublime style. The earliest Protestant music was in the style of these masters, and the choral with contrapuntal accompaniment was suggested by their treatment of sacred chants and secular melodies. Under the influence of the Reformation, sacred music was cultivated with renewed fervor.

Martin Luther, the head and front of the great movement, took a profound interest in music, which he exemplified by his noble “Ein’ feste Burg,” and other melodies and hymns. Associated with him were the musicians Johann Walther and Louis Senfl. Their labors did not extend beyond the middle of the sixteenth century, and may be said to mark the first period of Protestant Church music. Walther was court musician at Torgau when called by Luther to Wittenberg to collaborate with the singer, Conrad Rupff, concerning the arrangement of the German mass. Walther’s choral book was the first one published. It appeared at Wittenberg in 1524, under the supervision of Luther, who wrote a preface to the work.

LUDWIG SENFL.

The most able musical character of the period was Ludwig Senfl. He was born and educated in Switzerland, and was a pupil of Heinrich Isaak. He became a member of the choir of Emperor Maximilian, and in 1530 was chosen director of church music at the Bavarian court in Munich, a position afterward held by Orlando Lasso.

Senfl was not only a composer of motets and other church music, but also, according to the custom of his day, set to music many ancient odes, particularly those of Horace. A collection of these odes was published in 1534 at Nuremberg. Senfl did not compose original chorals, but in his contrapuntal treatment of them displayed a higher degree of skill and taste than his contemporaries, and he was clearly the forerunner of masters like Eccard and Michael Prætorius. A pure, religious spirit animates his works, and the chaste style of his themes and counterpoint renders his music interesting. Among other masters of this period who were influenced by the Flemish school may be mentioned Heinrich Finck, Rahw, Resinarius, Agricola, Duces, Dietrich and Stolzer. Finck is especially noted for his motet-like arrangements of chorals; and Rahw published in 1544 a collection of chorals to which the above-named composers and others contributed.

As has been said, this activity in Protestant music was not without parallel in Catholic music. Indeed, the works of these same composers were sung in the Catholic cathedrals of their native land. Heinrich Isaak, who has already been mentioned, was the only noteworthy composer of this time who devoted himself exclusively to Catholic Church music. His work, in common with that of a multitude of lesser masters, was surpassed infinitely by the achievements of Orlando Lasso. This great musician, although a Belgian by birth, spent much of his life in Germany, and from his prominent position at Munich wielded a powerful influence on the musical life of his age.

The second period in the development of Protestant Church music may be said to have begun about the middle of the sixteenth century, when it became the fixed custom to place the melody in the highest part of the harmony. When given to the tenor, the melody could never assert its rights, for it was often lost in the polyphonic complexity of the other voices. Its transference to the soprano—a reform suggested by the stile familiare of Josquin de Près and by the Italian frottole and villanelle—had been determined by the Calvinist psalm collections of 1542 and later. This new style of composition was assiduously cultivated during the latter half of the century, and its ablest representatives were Hassler, Eccard and Michael Prætorius.

Hans Leo Hassler was born at Nuremberg in 1564, and died in 1612. He was educated in music by Andreas Gabrieli at Venice. He was one of the first organists of his time, and a clever contrapuntist and composer. Although a disciple of the Venetian school, his compositions have a genuine German simplicity and strength; but the most justly celebrated German composer of the century was Johannes Eccard, who was born at Mülhausen in 1553. It was conjectured that he was a pupil of Lasso. Eccard’s music is simple compared with that of his contemporaries of the Venetian and Roman schools. He was content to use his gifts in a less pretentious way, but nevertheless his Festival Songs deserve a place among the best church music. They are a perfect embodiment of religious devotion, and show a complete mastery of the peculiar form which he adopted in his music. In his works the melody appears in the soprano, but is not sufficiently individualized to be separated from the harmony. The parts are generally five in number, they move freely, and are well adapted to the voices of the singers. Eccard was likewise the composer of sacred songs, which are noble in comparison with similar music of his day; but his attention was devoted chiefly to church music. Two of his pupils became celebrated musicians, Johann Stobäus and Heinrich Albert. The latter had an important influence on the early development of the German Lied.