Aichinger, Gregor
Aichinger, Gregor
Aichinger, Gregor, important German composer; b. Regensburg, 1564 or 1565; d. Augsburg, Jan. 20 or 21, 1628. He entered the Univ. of Ingolstadt in 1578. In 1584 he became household organist to the Frugger family in Augsburg, and also served as organist at St. Ulrich there until his death. He visited Italy in 1584, and then studied with Giovanni Gabrieli in Venice, attended the Univ. of Siena (1586), and journeyed to Rome. In 1588 he resumed his studies at the Univ. of Ingolstadt. He then revisited Rome, and subsequently attended the Univ. of Perugia in 1599. In 1600 he was once more in Rome, and he also visited Venice. About 1601 he settled in Augsburg. Having taken holy orders while in Italy, he received the benefice of S. Maria Magdalena in Augsburg, where he also was vicarius chori. His works reflect the influence of Lassus and Giovanni Gabrieli, and are particularly noteworthy for their polyphonic mastery. His Cantiones ecclesiasticae (Dillingen, 1607) was the first major German publication with thoroughbass, and is also significant for the inclusion of a valuable treatise on thoroughbass notation and performance.
Works
Sacrae cantiones for 4 to 6, 8, and 10 Voices (Venice, 1590); Divinae laudes for 3 Voices (Augsburg, 1602); Fasciculus sacrarum harmoniarum for 4 Voices, 3 ricercares a 4 (Dillingen, 1606); Cantiones ecclesiasticae for 3 to 4 Voices and Basso Continuo, 1 canzona a 2 and Basso Continuo (Dillingen, 1607); Sacra Dei laudes sub officio divino concinendae for 5 to 8 Voices (Dillingen, 1609); Teutsche Gesenglein: Auss dent Psalter dess H. Propheten Davids for 3 Voices (Dillingen, 1609); Triplex liturgia-rum fasciculus for 4 to 6 Voices and Basso Continuo (Augsburg, 1616); Encomium verbo incarnato for 4 Voices and Basso Continuo (Ingolstadt, 1617); Quercus dodonaea for 3 to 4 Voices and Basso Continuo (Augsburg, 1619); Corolla eucharistica for 2 to 3 Voices and Basso Continuo (Augsburg, 1621); Flores musici ad mensam Ss. convivü for 5 to 6 Voices and Basso Continuo (Augsburg, 1626).
Bibliography
W. Hettrick, The Thorough-bass in the Works of G. S. (1564–1628) (diss., Univ. of Mich., 1968).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire