Paul Siefert (variants: Syfert, Sivert, Sibert; 23 May 1586 – 6 May 1666) was a German

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

associated with the

North German school The 17th century organ composers of Germany can be divided into two primary schools: the north German school and the south German school (sometimes a third school, central German, is added). The stylistic differences were dictated not only by teach ...

Biography

He was born in Danzig (Gdańsk),

Royal Prussia Royal Prussia ( pl, Prusy Królewskie; german: Königlich-Preußen or , csb, Królewsczé Prësë) or Polish PrussiaAnton Friedrich Büsching, Patrick Murdoch. ''A New System of Geography'', London 1762p. 588/ref> (Polish: ; German: ) was a ...

(a fief of the

Crown of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, includi ...

) to his father's second wife and named after his father (died 1604), who was a

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title o ...

. The Danzig

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...

gave

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

s to

Samuel Scheidt Samuel Scheidt (baptised 3 November 1587 – 24 March 1654) was a German composer, organist and teacher of the early Baroque era. Life and career Scheidt was born in Halle, and after early studies there, he went to Amsterdam to study with ...

and him to study with

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck ( ; April or May, 1562 – 16 October 1621) was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard compo ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

from 1607 to 1610; in the autumn of that year, he returned home where he became assistant organist of the Marienkirche. His application to become principal organist of the church after

Cajus Schmiedtlein Cajus Schmiedtlein (ca. 1555–1611) was a German Renaissance composer and organist and is best known for his time as the organist at St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk. His name appears in different spelling variants in the Low German dialect (Caj Schmedek ...

died in March 1611 failed due to complaints about his arrogance and style of performance. He moved to

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was ...

in 1611 to take up the post of organist of

Altstadt Church Altstadt Church (german: Altstädtische Kirche) was a medieval church in the Altstadt quarter of Königsberg, Germany. It was dismantled during the 1820s and replaced with New Altstadt Church. History The originally Roman Catholic parish church ...

, and became court organist at

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

in 1616. He returned to Danzig in 1623 to become principal organist, where he remained until his death; he failed in an application for the post of

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

in 1627 after the death of Andreas Hakenberger, who was succeeded by Kaspar Förster. He did not lead a serene life; he became sidelined at the Warsaw court, and had long-running feuds with Kaspar Förster,

choirmaster A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

of the Marienkirche from 1627 to 1652, and Marco Scacchi, Polish court choirmaster from 1628 to 1649.

Music

His first book of ''Psalmen Davids'' consists of two concertos for three and four voices and twelve settings for four and five voices of material drawn from the

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

Goudimel- Lobwasser

psalter A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters w ...

of the

Reformed Church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

. The form used is that of the

chorale Chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one of the th ...

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Ma ...

, the instrumental parts having little significance, mainly doubling the voices. ''Psalmorum Davidicorum'' II consists of fifteen psalms for four to eight voices, a concerto for four voices, and an eight-part instrumental

canzona The canzona is an Italian musical form derived from the Franco-Flemish and Parisian chansons, and during Giovanni Gabrieli's lifetime was frequently spelled canzona, though both earlier and later the singular was spelled either canzon or canzone ...

; the works are antecedents of the concertato chorale motet and the chorale

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning o ...

; there are instrumental preludes and ritornellos, and alternating sections of solo and tutti passages. His

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mu ...

works bear some similarity to Sweelinck, but are not generally of a high quality. The highly ornamented line is usually played by the right hand with the chorale underneath. This texture is interrupted by episodes exploiting effects of harmony and colour.

Surviving works

Vocal

*''Psalmen Davids, nach französischer Melodey oder Weise in Music componieret'', 3-5 part

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

, instruments doubling and continuo (1640) *''Canticum seu Symbolum divi Ambrosii et Augustini Te Deum laudamus'', 1-5 part choir, instruments doubling and continuo (1642) *''Psalmorum Davidicorum, ad gallicam melodiam … pars II …'' 4-8 part choir, instruments doubling and continuo (1651) *''Der Herr herrschen thut'', motet for 5 part choir

Instrumental

* ''Canzona a 8'', in ''Psalmorum'' (1651) *

Chorale Chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one of the th ...

variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individua ...

, keyboard * 13

fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcor ...

s, keyboard (doubtful) * ''Paduana'' for keyboard * ''Benedicam Dominum'', fantasia for keyboard after a motet by

Orlando di Lasso Orlande de Lassus ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Pale ...

Theoretical

*''Anticribratio musica ad avenam Schachianam'' (1645)

Sources

*Jerrold C. Baab, 'Siefert yfert, Sivert, Sibert Paul', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 2007-06-08), http://www.grovemusic.com/ *C.V. Palisca: ''Marco Scacchi's Defense of Modern Music (1649)'', in ''Words and Music: the Scholar's View'', ed. L. Berman (Cambridge, MA, 1972) *D. Brough: ''Polish 17th-Century Church Music'' (New York, 1989)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Siefert, Paul 1586 births 1666 deaths 17th-century classical composers German Baroque composers German male classical composers German classical organists German male organists Musicians from Gdańsk Organists and composers in the North German tradition People from Royal Prussia Pupils of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck 17th-century male musicians Male classical organists