Heinrich Schutz (1585 - 1672)

Heinrich Schutz was the greatest German composer of the 17th century. Schutz was from the Baroque period. He was born in Kostritz, Germany on October 9th, 1585. Schutz died November 6th, 1672 in Dresden, Germany.

In 1598, Landgrave Moritz, impressed by his musical accomplishments, took him to Kassel, where he served as a choirboy and studied music with Georg Otto. He went to the University of Marburg to study law, but Landgrave Moritz told him to go to Venice as a pupil of G. Gabrieli to learn music.

In 1619 he married Magdalene Wildek. She died in 1625, leaving him with two daughters. He never remarried.

He was Kapelmeister at Dresden. He was responsible for providing music for major court ceremonies. He also had to keep the Kapel adequately staffed and supervise the musical education of the choirboys.

He wrote mainly biblical texts and wrote little chorale-based music. Some of his most famous pieces were Psalmen Davids, Cantiones Sacrae, Symphoniae Sacrae, and Kleine geistliche Concerte.