Scheidt, Samuel

born 1587, Halle, Saxony

died March 30, 1654, Halle

German composer.

After study in Amsterdam with Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, he returned to his native Halle and spent his entire life there in various musical offices, including court organist and later kapellmeister to the Margrave of Brandenburg. He wrote much sacred vocal music in both German and Latin, including Geistliche Concerte (1631–40). His chief work for keyboard (mostly organ) was Tabulatura nova (1624), written in open score rather than traditional organ tablature. The collection contains fantasias, toccatas, "echo pieces," organ responses for liturgical use, and, most important, variations on chorale melodies.

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▪ German composer

born 1587, Halle, Saxony [Germany]

died March 24, 1654, Halle

      organist and composer who, with Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (Sweelinck, Jan Pieterszoon), influenced the Baroque organ style of northern Germany.

      Scheidt studied with Sweelinck in Amsterdam and by 1604 became organist at the Church of St. Maurice (Moritzkirche) in Halle. About 1609 he became organist, and later chapelmaster, to the Margrave of Brandenburg. He was esteemed as a teacher, and his pupils included the composer Adam Krieger.

      Scheidt's first published works included sacred vocal music, notably Cantiones sacrae (1620) for eight voices, and four books of Geistliche Concerten (1631–40) for two to six voices and continuo. The publication of his Tabulatura nova (three parts, 1624) was an important event in the history of organ music. The title refers to the musical notation used: keyboard tablature in the Italian sense (i.e., staff notation, rather than the alphabetical tablature used in earlier German organ music). The collection contains fantasias, toccatas, “echo pieces,” organ responses for liturgical use, and, most important, variations on chorale melodies.

      Scheidt's subjection of the chorale melody to musical variations and his use of different combinations of voices and instruments in the different stanzas foreshadowed the later Lutheran cantatas based on chorales. Scheidt's work, though influenced by Sweelinck, shows his own skill in counterpoint. His Tablatur-Buch (1650) contains harmonized accompaniments for 100 sacred songs and psalms, pointing to the growing practice of congregational singing in Lutheran churches.

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