Sebastian Virdung (born c. 1465) was a German composer and theorist on

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...

s. He is grouped among the composers known as the Colorists. He studied in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

as a scholar of Johannes von Soest at the chapel of the ducal court. After being ordained, he became chaplain at the court in

. Virdung sung in the choir as a male alto until 1505/1506. Around 1506 he became a singer in the chapel of the court of Württemberg in Stuttgart. The following year, in January 1507, he received one of nine succentorships at Konstanz Cathedral where he educated the choirboys until he was dismissed in 1508 presumably for his difficult temperament. In 1511, he published his treatise ''Musica getuscht und ausgezogen''. The text is described as the first printed book on the subject.
See for example on the rebec. It covered the theory of music, counterpoint and composition. However, none of these subjects are to be found in the printed work that survives. Existing sections are based on instruments with illustrations and is notable for being the oldest printed source on this subject. The second is said to be ''Musica instrumentalis deudsch'' (1529) by Martin Agricola. These works are both illustrated, and important for the history of European instruments. It classifies instruments into families. It is also a source on

musical notation Musical notation is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The proce ...

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External links

musicologie.org
Full Score * German male musicians German Renaissance composers 1460s births Year of death unknown {{Germany-musician-stub