Adam of Fulda (c. 1445 – 1505) was a German composer and music theorist of the second half of the 15th century. He was born in

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

and died in

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

. In Heinrich Glarean's ''Dodecachordon'' he is described as ''Francum Germanum'', i.e., of German origin. Adam of Fulda calls himself at times ''musicus ducalis'' (musician of the Court). He also mentions Guillaume Dufay (1400–1474) as his contemporary.

Biography

Adam of Fulda was born approximately 1445. He was educated at the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

at Vornbach Abbey, where he wrote his ''De musica''. After leaving the monastery, he was a lecturer at the Wittenberg University in

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces firs ...

, where he was one of the scholars involved with

Renaissance humanism Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...

. From 1490 he was choir director.

Writings

Three writings of his are known. ''De musica'' is a four-part manuscript written in Strasbourg, dated 4 November 1490. It deals in 7 chapters with an explication, invention and praise of music; in 21 chapters with the human hand, the chant, the voice, the

clef A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines, which defines the pit ...

s, the

mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, m ...

and the keys; in 13 chapters with mensural music and in 8 chapters with proportions and consonances. He wrote "Ein ser andechtig Cristenlich Buchleī aus hailigē schrifften vnd Lerern von Adam von Fulda in teutsch reymenn gesetzt" (A very pious and Christian booklet from the Holy writings and studies by Adam of Fulda set in German rhymes), published in Wittenberg in 1512 (reprinted, Berlin, 1914). Fulda began another work which was to be a history of Saxony. It was completed by Johannes Trithemius after Adam's death in 1514 as ''Annales Hirsaugiensis''. Klaus Wolfgang Niemöller, "Adam von Fulda," ''Oxford Music Online'' accessed 31 October 2011.

Musical works

Most of Adam's musical works are liturgical settings or secular songs. He wrote one mass, and several liturgical works. Niemöller lists 3 secular songs.

Recordings of works by Adam of Fulda

''Ach hülf mich leid'' and other works by Adam of Fulda have been recorded by the German

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

-music vocal group " Stimmwerck".

Notes

References

*''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' �
online version

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adam of Fulda 1440s births 1505 deaths German male classical composers German music theorists Musicians from Hesse Renaissance composers People from Fulda German classical composers