Selected Recordings

Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern

O Nachbar Roland

Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz

Selected Sheet Music

In dulci jubilo

Source: IMSLP.org

Showcase Piece

Ach, du feiner reiter

Notes and Commentary

Samuel Scheidt was a German composer, organist, and teacher of the early Baroque era. He studied with Jan Sweelinck, the distinguished Dutch composer, whose work had a clear influence on Scheidt’s style. Scheidt was the first internationally significant German composer for the organ, and represents the flowering of the new north German style, which occurred largely as a result of the Protestant Reformation. In south Germany and some other countries of Europe, the spiritual and artistic influence of Rome remained strong, so most music continued to be derivative of Italian models. Cut off from Rome, musicians in the newly Protestant areas readily developed styles that were much different from those of their neighbors.

Scheidt’s music is in two principal categories: instrumental music, including a large amount of keyboard music, mostly for organ; and sacred vocal music, some of which is a cappella and some of which uses a basso continuo or other instrumental accompaniment. In his numerous chorale preludes, Scheidt often used a “patterned variation” technique, in which each phrase of the chorale uses a different rhythmic motive, and each variation is more elaborate than the previous one, until the climax of the composition is reached. In addition to his chorale preludes, he wrote numerous fugues, suites of dances (which were often in a cyclic form, sharing a common ground bass) and fantasias. He lived from November 1587 to March 24, 1654.—Excerpted from Wikipedia

Books and Music

Selected Books

The Registration of Baroque Organ Music
Indiana Univ. Press, 1999
Barbara Owen
$23.40 on Amazon

“In this book, Barbara Owen has created a rich resource of historical information coupled with strategies for interpreting that information on today’s instruments.”—Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society

Selected Music

Great Sacred Concertos (2007), 1 CD

Concertuum Sacorum (2007), 2-CD set

Tabulatura Nova I (2003), 2-CD set

More Samuel Scheidt music

Complete Works

Cantilena anglica de Fortuna
Canzon ‘Bergamasca’
Canzon ‘Cornetto’
Canzon super ‘O Nachbar Roland’
Canzon super Cantionem Belgicam
Canzon super Cantionem Gallicam
Canzon super Intradam Aethiopicam

Deutsches Magnificat

Galliard Battaglia
Gelobet seist Du, Jesus Christ

In dulci jubilo

Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott

Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland

Resonet in Laudibus

Wohlan, so kommet her, ihr Frommen

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