Sebald Heyden

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Sebald Heyden
Sebald Heyden 001.jpeg
Sebald Heyden
Born(1499-12-08)8 December 1499
Died9 July 1561(1561-07-09) (aged 61)
Education University of Ingolstadt
Occupations
Organizations St. Sebald, Nuremberg
Notable work

Sebald Heyden (8 December 1499 – 9 July 1561) [1] was a German musicologist, cantor, theologian, hymn-writer and religious poet. A member of the Haiden family of Nuremberg, he is perhaps best known for his De arte canendi ("On the Art of Singing", third installment published 1540) which is considered to have had a major impact on scholarship and the teaching of singing to young boys. [2] He wrote hymns such as "O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß". It has been speculated that Heyden was the world's first true musicologist. [3]

Contents

Biography

Heyden was born in Bruck (now part of Erlangen) to a family of Nuremberg patricians. [3] He studied under music theorist Johannes Cochlaeus at the school of St. Lorenz from 1505. [4] He entered the University of Ingolstadt in 1513, graduating with a master's degree in 1519. [3] [4] From 1519 he worked as a cantor, and later as rector at the Nuremberg Hospital School. In January 1525 he was appointed the first Lutheran rector of the school of St. Sebald. [5] Among his pupils was Nicholas Selnecker. He was in regular contact with Hans Sachs and Albrecht Dürer. Over the decades, Heyden developed a great reputation as a scholar, devoted to studies and writing on education, theology, and music. [3] He was originally a Lutheran, but in the 1530s he became influenced by Zwingli. [3]

Heyden's birthplace Bruck (Erlangen) Pfarrhof 001.JPG
Heyden's birthplace

Heyden's first publications appeared around 1523–25, theological tracts such as Salve regina, which he gave to the Reichstag in a different Christian context. [4] In 1524 he published Adversus Hypocritas Calumniatores, super falso sibi inustam haereseos nota, also a theological tract. [6] In 1527 he began publishing textbooks such as Formulae puerilium colloquiorum (Nomenclatura). [5] His Formulae immediately became an important work, used as a phrase book between German-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking students at the University of Krakow. [5] In 1530, he wrote the hymn " O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß " (O man, bewail thy sins great). The Passion song reflects poetically in "great passion" the sufferings of Christ. He wrote it on a tune by Matthias Greitter, to the original text: "Es sind doch selig alle, die im rechten Glauben wandeln hie" (Blessed are they all who walk here in true faith). In 1532 he published further text books Leges scholasticae and Musicae stoicheiosis.

Heyden's De arte canendi , its third and final edition completed in Nuremberg in 1540, is said to have "had a greater impact on modern scholarship than any other writing on mensuration and tactus from the 15th or 16th century." [3] A collection of secular songs, it has been described as a "treatise on singing technique aimed at the growing number of amateur musicians who wished to improve their skills." [7] The first installment was produced in 1532 in 26 pages, the second in 1537 grew to 115 pages and the third in 1540 to 163 pages. [4] From 1537, Heyden borrowed a copy of Tinctoris's Proportionale from Georg Forster and extensively studied the composers featured in it. [4] Heyden also composed several hymns and poems. [8] In the third installment, Heyden confessed to being an admirer of Josquin des Prez and his contemporaries, transcribing Josquin's Missa L'homme armé sexti toni (Benedictus), amongst others. [9] [10] Notably, Heyden is said to have "adopted a horror fusae position at a time when Italian musicians were writing pieces a note nere under the signature of C." [9] Indeed, the treatise is said to have "influenced many twentieth-century scholars to believe that the tactus of the sixteenth century represented an unvarying beat." [11] In 1546 he published Paedonomia scholastica pietatis, studii literarij ac morum. [12]

Heyden died in Nuremberg.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josquin des Prez</span> Composer of the Renaissance (c. 1450–1521)

Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez was a composer of High Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he was a central figure of the Franco-Flemish School and had a profound influence on the music of 16th-century Europe. Building on the work of his predecessors Guillaume Du Fay and Johannes Ockeghem, he developed a complex style of expressive—and often imitative—movement between independent voices (polyphony) which informs much of his work. He further emphasized the relationship between text and music, and departed from the early Renaissance tendency towards lengthy melismatic lines on a single syllable, preferring to use shorter, repeated motifs between voices. Josquin was a singer, and his compositions are mainly vocal. They include masses, motets and secular chansons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lutheran chorale</span> Musical setting of a Lutheran hymn

A Lutheran chorale is a musical setting of a Lutheran hymn, intended to be sung by a congregation in a German Protestant Church service. The typical four-part setting of a chorale, in which the sopranos sing the melody along with three lower voices, is known as a chorale harmonization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federico Maria Sardelli</span> Italian composer

Federico Maria Sardelli is an Italian conductor, historicist-composer, musicologist, comic artist, and flautist, resident in Florence. He founded the medieval ensemble Modo Antiquo in 1984. In 1987, Modo Antiquo also became a baroque orchestra, debuting with the performance of Jean-Baptiste Lully's Ballet des Saisons in front of an audience of about five thousand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Dahlhaus</span> German musicologist (1928–1989)

Carl Dahlhaus was a German musicologist who was among the leading postwar musicologists of the mid to late 20th-century. A prolific scholar, he had broad interests though his research focused on 19th- and 20th-century classical music, both areas in which he made significant advancements. However, he remains best known in the English-speaking world for his writings on Wagner. Dahlhaus wrote on many other composers, including Josquin, Gesualdo, Bach and Schoenberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franchinus Gaffurius</span> Italian music theorist and composer (1451–1522)

Franchinus Gaffurius was an Italian music theorist and composer of the Renaissance.

<i>Jesu, meine Freude</i>, BWV 227 Motet by Johann Sebastian Bach

Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227, is a motet by Johann Sebastian Bach. The longest and most musically complex of Bach's motets, it is set in eleven movements for up to five voices. It is named after the Lutheran hymn "Jesu, meine Freude" with words by Johann Franck, first published in 1653. The motet contains the six stanzas of the hymn in its odd-numbered movements. The hymn tune by Johann Crüger appears in all of these movements in different styles of chorale settings. The text of the motet's even-numbered movements is taken from the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, a passage that influenced key Lutheran teachings. The hymn, written in the first person with a focus on an emotional bond with Jesus, forms a contrasting expansion of the doctrinal biblical text. Bach set both texts alternating with and complementing each other, in a structure of symmetries on different layers.

<i>St John Passion</i> 1724 musical composition by Johann Sebastian Bach

The Passio secundum Joannem or St John Passion, BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the earliest of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as director of church music in Leipzig and was first performed on 7 April 1724, at Good Friday Vespers at the St. Nicholas Church.

The decade of the 1530s in music involved some significant events, publications, compositions, births, and deaths.

The decade of the 1540s in music involved some significant events.

Bruno Turner is a British musicologist, choral conductor, broadcaster, publisher and businessman. His scholarship and recordings have focused on early music, especially of Spanish polyphony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig</span> German Lutheran hymn from 1652

"Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig" is a German Lutheran hymn with lyrics by Michael Franck, who published it with his own melody and a four-part setting in 1652. Johann Crüger's reworked version of the hymn tune was published in 1661. Several Baroque composers used the hymn, including Johann Sebastian Bach, who wrote a chorale cantata. It is part of the current Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch, and has also been used by 20th-century composers such as Ernst Pepping and Mauricio Kagel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland</span> Song by Martin Luther

"Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" is a Lutheran chorale of 1524 with words written by Martin Luther, based on "Veni redemptor gentium" by Ambrose, and a melody, Zahn 1174, based on its plainchant. It was printed in the Erfurt Enchiridion of 1524.

De arte canendi is an important musical treatise by Sebald Heyden, produced in three installments between 1532 and 1540. The first installment was produced in 1532 in 26 pages, the second in 1537 grew to 115 pages and the third in 1540 to 163 pages. The third and final edition completed in Nuremberg in 1540, is said to have "had a greater impact on modern scholarship than any other writing on mensuration and tactus from the 15th or 16th century." A collection of secular songs, it has been described as a "treatise on singing technique aimed at the growing number of amateur musicians who wished to improve their skills." In the third installment, Heyden confessed to being an admirer of Josquin des Prez and his contemporaries, transcribing Josquin's Missa L'homme armé sexti toni (Benedictus), amongst others. Notably, Heyden is said to have "adopted a horror fusae position at a time when Italian musicians were writing pieces a note nere under the signature of C." Indeed, the treatise is said to have "influenced many twentieth-century scholars to believe that the tactus of the sixteenth century represented an unvarying beat."

<i>O heilges Geist- und Wasserbad</i>, BWV 165 Church cantata for Trinity Sunday by Johann Sebastian Bach

O heilges Geist- und Wasserbad, BWV 165, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Weimar for Trinity Sunday and led the first performance on 16 June 1715.

<i>St John Passion</i> structure Sacred oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach

The structure of the St John Passion, BWV 245, a sacred oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach first performed in Leipzig on Good Friday 1724, is "carefully designed with a great deal of musico-theological intent". Some main aspects of the structure are shown in tables below.

<i>Praxis pietatis melica</i> 17th century Protestant hymnal

Praxis pietatis melica is a Protestant hymnal first published in the 17th century by Johann Crüger. The hymnal, which appeared under this title from 1647 to 1737 in 45 editions, has been described as "the most successful and widely-known Lutheran hymnal of the 17th century". Crüger composed melodies to texts that were published in the hymnal and are still sung today, including "Jesu, meine Freude", "Herzliebster Jesu", and "Nun danket alle Gott". Between 1647 and 1661, Crüger first printed 90 songs by his friend Paul Gerhardt, including "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß</span>

"O Mensch, bewein' dein' Sünde groß" is a Lutheran Passion hymn with a text written by Sebald Heyden in 1530. The author reflects the Passion of Jesus, based on the Four Evangelists, originally in 23 stanzas. The lyrics were written for an older melody, "Es sind doch selig alle, die im rechten Glauben wandeln". The first and last stanzas have appeared in 11 hymnals. Catherine Winkworth translated it as "O man, thy grievous sin bemoan". The hymn has been used in Passion music and is known in Bach's setting as a chorale fantasia closing Part I of his St Matthew Passion.

Anselmus Ephorinus was a Silesian humanist and doctor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele</span> Lutheran hymn by Johann Crüger with lyrics by Johann Franck

"Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele" is a Lutheran hymn in German, with lyrics by Johann Franck and a hymn tune by Johann Crüger. It was first published in Crüger's 1649 Geistliche Kirchen-Melodien, and was later adopted in other hymnals, such as the 1653 edition of his Praxis pietatis melica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nun danket all und bringet Ehr</span> Christian hymn by Paul Gerhardt

"Nun danket all und bringet Ehr" is a German Lutheran hymn in nine stanzas, with a text written by Paul Gerhardt. It was first published in 1647, in Johann Crüger's Praxis pietatis melica which was the first publication of hymns by Gerhardt. In the 1653 edition, Crüger added a melody that he composed. As a general song of thanks, the song has appeared in several hymnals, including the German Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch and the Catholic hymnal Gotteslob. It has inspired musical settings by composers from the 17th to the 21st century. Johann Sebastian Bach used the first stanza in a cantata, however with the melody of "Lobt Gott, ihr Christen alle gleich", Hugo Distler composed a chorale cantata, and Günter Berger based a toccata for organ on it.

References

  1. Wohnhaas, Theodor (1972), "Heyden, Sebald", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 9, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 70; ( full text online )
  2. Schiltz, Katelijne; Blackburn, Bonnie J. (2007). Canons and canonic techniques, 14th–16th centuries: theory, practice, and reception history. Peeters Publishers. p. 304. ISBN   978-90-429-1681-4 . Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 DeFord, Ruth I. "Sebald Heyden (1499–1561): The first historical musicologist?" (PDF). Hunter College and The Graduate Center of The City University of New York. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Judd, Cristle Collins (2 November 2006). Reading Renaissance Music Theory: Hearing with the Eyes. Cambridge University Press. p. 91-. ISBN   978-0-521-02819-6 . Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 Macardle, Peter (1 December 2007). Confabulations: Cologne life and humanism in Hermann Schotten's Confabulations tironum litterariorum (Cologne, 1525). Durham Modern Languages. p. 124. ISBN   978-0-907310-67-9 . Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  6. Heyden, Sebald (1524). Adversus Hypocritas Calumniatores, super falso sibi inustam haereseos nota[m], de inversa cantilena, quae Salve regina incipit, Sebaldi Heiden defensio. Petreius. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  7. International Association of Music Libraries. United Kingdom Branch (2005). Brio. The Branch. pp. 10–15. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  8. Williams, David Russell; Balensuela, C. Matthew (2007). Music theory from Boethius to Zarlino: a bibliography and guide. Pendragon Press. p. 106. ISBN   978-1-57647-157-9 . Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  9. 1 2 Haar, James; Corneilson, Paul Edward (24 August 1998). The Science and Art of Renaissance music. Princeton University Press. p. 178. ISBN   978-0-691-02874-3 . Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  10. Smith, Anne (30 March 2011). The Performance of 16th-Century Music: Learning from the Theorists. Oxford University Press. p. 29. ISBN   978-0-19-974262-2 . Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  11. Houle, George (June 2000). Meter in music, 1600–1800: performance, perception, and notation. Indiana University Press. p. 3. ISBN   978-0-253-21391-4 . Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  12. Heyden, Sebald (1546). Paedonomia scholastica pietatis, studii literarij ac morum honestatis precepta continens. Montanus. Retrieved 4 April 2012.