Michael Praetorius

Michael Praetorius (Schultheis) was born around 1571 in Creuzburg/Werra. His father Michael Schultheis had been a teacher alongside Johann Walter at the Latin school in Werra when he was young, and later studied theology with Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchton in Wittenberg. In the times of unrest following Luther’s death, he – as an orthodox Lutheran – was forced to change his place of residence several times; from 1569 to 1573, he was a pastor in Creuzburg. Praetorius initially also studied theology under the aegis of his brother Andreas, who held a professorship in Frankfurt/Oder. After the death of his brother in 1586, he accepted an organist’s post in order to secure his livelihood. In 1589 we find him as a student at the University of Helmstedt. In 1593, finally, he entered the service of Duke Heinrich Julius in nearby Wolfenbüttel, serving as court organist from 1594, and as court kapellmeister from 1604. The duke’s death in 1613 largely terminated Praetorius’s work at the court and in Wolfenbüttel. In the same year, Praetorius was “lent” to Dresden, where he remained until 1616. He was responsible for numerous “Festmusiken” (festive music events), some of which he organized together with Heinrich Schütz (who, from 1614 onwards, had likewise initially been “lent” to Dresden from Kassel). From 1616, Praetorius led the life of an itinerant organ expert, ensemble (re)organizer and organizer of musical festivities at numerous courts in North and Central Germany. In 1619, already marked by illness, he returned to settle in Wolfenbüttel, where he died on 15 February 1621.