Friedrich Weißensee (c. 1560 in Schwerstedt, Thüringen – 1622, Altenweddingen bei Magdeburg) was a German composer and Protestant minister. Alongside his contemporaries Christoph Demantius,

Michael Praetorius Michael Praetorius (probably 28 September 1571 – 15 February 1621) was a German composer, organist, and Music theory, music theorist. He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of ...

and

Melchior Vulpius Melchior Vulpius (c. 1570 in Wasungen – 7 August 1615 in Weimar) was a German singer and composer of church music. Vulpius came from a poor craftsman's family. He studied at the local school in Wasungen (in Thuringia) with Johannes Steuerl ...

, he was one of the leading Protestant composers of his time.

Life

In 1590 he was made rector of a Latin school in Gebesee near

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

. In 1596 he succeeded Leonhart Schröter as cantor at the Altstädtische Schule in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

on Schröter's retirement – one of Weißensee's pupils was Daniel Friderici. In 1602 he became a minister in Altenweddingen.

Selected works

* ''„Evangelische Sprüche auß den Evangelien der vornemsten und feyerlichen Fest-Tagen . . . gezogen . . . mit 5. Stimmen einfeltig . . . figuriret . . . Der erste Theil“'' (Erfurt, 1595) and ''„Hochzeit-Lied aus den Sprüchwörtern Salomonis“'' (Magdeburg, 1599) – important early contributions to the field of German-language motets * ''„Hochzeitlicher Ehren Dantz, mit Stimmen componiert auff das adelige Beylager des . . . Wolfgang Spitznasen zu Magdeburgh Domherrn“'' (Magdeburg, 1600) * ''„Opus Melicum, methodicum et planè novum . . .“'' (Magdeburg, 1602) Sammlung von 72 Motetten durch das Kirchenjahr, mit einem 10st. „Nunc facta est salus“ von

Luca Marenzio Luca Marenzio (also Marentio; October 18, 1553 or 1554 – August 22, 1599) was an Italian composer and singer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the most renowned composers of madrigals, and wrote some of the most famous examples of the f ...

– containing 72 German and Latin motets in four to twelve parts, this was his most important work and shows him to rank alongside

Adrian Willaert Adrian Willaert ( – 7 December 1562) was a Flemish composer of High Renaissance music. Mainly active in Italy, he was the founder of the Venetian School. He was one of the most representative members of the generation of northern composers ...

and

Andrea Gabrieli Andrea Gabrieli (1532/1533Bryant, Grove online – August 30, 1585) was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance music, Renaissance. The uncle of the somewhat more famous Giovanni Gabrieli, he was the first internationally renowned ...

as one of the best German proponents of the

Venetian polychoral style The Venetian polychoral style was a type of music of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras which involved spatially separate choirs singing in alternation. It represented a major stylistic shift from the prevailing polyphonic writing of the ...

* ''„Geistlich Braut und Hochzeit Gesang, mit 6 Stim. comp, zu Ehren . . . Georg Schnitzen“'' (Magdeburg, 1611) * ''„Memoria gemina: I. metrica, quam carmine Phalecio: II. melica...“'' (Magdeburg, 1616) He also wrote two eight-part motets in 1603 and 1612 which were included in Erhard Bodenschatz's collection entitled ''„Florilegium Portense“''.

Bibliography

* Eduard Jacobs
Weißensee, Friedrich
In: ''

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

'' (ADB). Vol. 55, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1910, S. 26 f.

External links

Books on and by Friedrich Weißensee
in the catalogue of the

Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The German National Library (DNB; ) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to collect, permanently archive, comprehens ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weissensee, Friedrich 1560 births 1622 deaths Sacred music composers Composers of Christian music German Baroque composers 17th-century German Lutheran clergy