Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611 or 1612 – 29 October
1675), the "Orpheus of Zittau," was a German Bohemian
composer and organist of the early to middle Baroque
era. He was one of the most significant and popular
composers of sacred music in Germany in the middle 17th
century.
Hammerschmidt wrote motets, concertos and arias, and
almost all of his output is sacred vocal music in the
concertato style. According to Manfred Bukofzer (1947),
he "watered down the achievements of Schütz for the
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Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611 or 1612 – 29 October
1675), the "Orpheus of Zittau," was a German Bohemian
composer and organist of the early to middle Baroque
era. He was one of the most significant and popular
composers of sacred music in Germany in the middle 17th
century.
Hammerschmidt wrote motets, concertos and arias, and
almost all of his output is sacred vocal music in the
concertato style. According to Manfred Bukofzer (1947),
he "watered down the achievements of Schütz for the
multitude." Many of his compositions are in the form of
the chorale monody, an adaptation of the early Baroque
Italian form to a sacred, and specifically Protestant,
purpose. Indeed Hammerschmidt represents the second
generation of composers who distilled a native German
Baroque tradition out of forms and styles imported from
Italy.
Over 400 works by Hammerschmidt survive, in a total of
14 separate collections. The motets represent a more
conservative style, as noted by Hammerschmidt himself,
and the concertos—concertato pieces with opposing
groups of voices and instruments—are in a current
idiom.
Some of his concertos are written for large ensembles,
with diverse combinations of instruments and voices
(for example, the sets from Gespräche über die
Evangelia of 1655–1656; this was long enough after
the war that large ensembles were available again). He
wrote these pieces for Sundays and church feast days;
their structure and intent foreshadowed the later
German church cantata, as exemplified most famously by
Johann Sebastian Bach. Even Hammerschmidt's masses
conform to the concertato style, and are best seen as
concertos.
While Hammerschmidt was an organist all of his life, no
organ music of his has survived; indeed there is no
evidence he published any. Some instrumental music of
his has survived in three publications; most of these
are suites of dances influenced by the English style
which was prevalent in the northern part of Germany at
that time.
Although "Schmücket das Fest mit Maien" (Bind the
sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar)
was originally written for Strings and Basso Continuo,
I created this arrangement for Piano and Woodwinds
(Flutes (2), Oboes (2), Bb Clarinets (2) & Bassoons
(2)).
SHEET MUSIC