Praetorius (Schultheiss), Michael

(15 February ? 1571, Creuzburg an der Werra near Eisenach, Germany – 15 February 1621, Wolfenbüttel)

   Appointed organist to Duke Heinrich Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1595, and court Kapellmeister in 1604. Except for the years 1613–1617 spent in Dresden serving the Elector Johann Georg, Praetorius remained in Wolfenbüttel until his death.

   He composed over 1,000 sacred works, mostly based on Lutheran chorales or setting the Latin prayers of the Lutheran mass. Many of his settings are in common use today. In the first phase of composi-tion, he published Motectae et Psalmi (1602), Latin motets that explored the stile antico. Next he systematically compiled and arranged all the Lutheran chorales required for the liturgical year in the ninepart {}Musae Sionae (1605–1610). He included hymns arranged for two to four choirs in Urania (1613), and canons are prominent in {}Hymnodia Sionae (1611), which also includes four organ pieces with cantus firmus. Last, he exploited the operatic elements newly imported from Italy in Polyhymnia Caduceatrix (1619).

   See also Cori Spezzati.