• Startseite
• Literatur
• Noten
• Noten Mehrchörige Werke
• Schröter, Leonhard: 3 Christmas Hymns

Schröter, Leonhard: 3 Christmas Hymns

for 8 voices or instruments in 2 choirs.

These pieces come from Leonhart Schröter´s Newe Weinacht Liedlein mit vier und acht Stimmen componiret (sic), published in Helmstedt in 1587, a small collection consisting entirely of Christmas hymns. Leonhart Schröter was born around 1532 in Torgau, and died c. 1600 in Magdeburg. The son of a Lutheran pastor, he made his living as a church musician, eventually becoming cantor at Magdeburg in 1595; he published several collections of church music.
It seems clear that the model for Schröter´s settings was the Wittenbergisches Gesängbuchlein of Johann Walther, whose setting of Joseph, lieber Joseph mein in particular was the starting-point for several other composers, notably Michael Praetorius (Walther´s setting is published in LPM 516). It is also interesting that the 8-part settings of Joseph, lieber Joseph mein and In dulci jubilo by Hieronymus Praetorius (no relation to Michael) already published in our series (EML 190) are rather similar in terms of the layout of the parts, and may well have been inspired by Schröter´s settings.
Most of the pieces in Schröter´s collection are in four parts. The parts in the three 8-part settings are not labelled “choir I” or similar; instead they are headed “primus discantus”, “secundus discantus”, etc. But in practice the music does mostly fall naturally into two choirs.
In this edition the original note values have been quartered. A few editorial accidentals are shown in the usual way, printed small above the stave, and applying tot he one note only.