Samuel Scheidt
Baptized in Halle, November 3, 1587
d. Halle, March 24, 1654
Biography
Samuel Scheidt was an important early German Baroque composer. He received his
training under Sweelinck, in Amsterdam. He was appointed organist of the
Moritzkirche in 1608, and in 1620 he was made organist and choirmaster to the
Margrave of Brandenburg, Christian Wilhelm.
Scheidt achieved notoriety in his day as a composer of vocal works, but he also
made important contributions in organ music. His greatest accomplishment was
Tabulatura Nova (new tabulature), a three-volume work published in 1624. In it,
Scheidt introduced our modern system of musical notation (staff notation). This
quickly replaced tabulature as the standard notation method.
Works
- Tabulatura Nova–Contains: Fantasies, echo compositions, various liturgical
pieces, Latin hymns,Magnificats, variations on German chorales, variations
on secular songs.