Praetorius (Latinized from Schulz, Schulze, Schultz, Or Schultze)

Praetorius (Latinized from Schulz, Schulze, Schultz, Or Schultze) , family of distinguished German musicians:

(1) Jacob Praetorius , organist and composer; b. Magdeburg, c. 1530; d. Hamburg, 1586. He converted to Protestantism and settled in Hamburg, where he became clerk at St. Jacobi in 1550. He became asst. organist in 1554, then was 1^st organist from 1558 until his death. He compiled a set of monophonie liturgical chants and German chorales in 1554. He also compiled a collection known as Opus musicum excellens et novum (1566), which contained 204 sacred compositions for 4, 5, 6, and 8 Voices by German and Netherlands composers (a majority of compositions are copies of pieces publ. by Georg Rhau). Praetorius’s only extant work, a Te Deum for 4 Voices, is included.

(2) Hieronymus Praetorius , organist and composer, son of the preceding; b. Hamburg, Aug. 10, 1560; d. there, Jan. 27, 1629. He studied organ with his father, then with Hinrich thor Molen (1573); also had instruction with Albinus Walran in Cologne (1574–76). He was organist in Erfurt (1580–82). He became asst. organist to his father at St. Jacobi in Hamburg in 1582; upon his father’s death in 1586, he became 1^st organist, a position he held until his own death 43 years later. He composed masses, motets, and Magnificat settings, of which the 8 Magnificat settings for Organ (1611) are particularly noteworthy. He also prepared a collection of monophonie German and Latin service music for the churches of Hamburg under the title Cantiones sacrae chorales (1587), and the Melodeyen Gesangbuch (Hamburg, 1604), which includes 88 4-part German chorale settings; 21 of these are by him, the remaining by his son (3) Jacob Praetorius , Joachim Decker, and David Scheidemann.

Bibliography

B. Friederich, Der Vokalstil des H. P. (Hamburg, 1932); F. Gable, The Polychoml Motets of H. P. (diss., Univ. of Iowa, 1966).

(3) Jacob Praetorius , organist, pedagogue, and composer, son of the preceding; b. Hamburg, Feb. 8, 1586; d. there, Oct. 22, 1651. He studied organ with Sweelinck in Amsterdam. From 1603 until his death he was organist of St. Petri in Hamburg. He was a noted organ teacher and composer of organ music. He contributed 19 4-part chorale settings to his father’s Melodeyen Gesangbuch (Hamburg, 1604). See W. Brieg, ed., J. P.: Choralbearbeitungen für Orgel (Kassel, 1974).

(4) Johannes Praetorius , organist and composer, brother of the preceding; b. Hamburg, c. 1595; d. there, July 25, 1660. He studied organ with Sweelinck in Amsterdam (1608–11). From 1612 until his death he was organist of the Nikolaikirche in Hamburg.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire