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• Altenburg, Michael: 2 Intradas

Altenburg, Michael: 2 Intradas

for 6 instruments.

These two pieces come from:
“Erster Theil Newer lieblicher und zierlicher Intraden mit sechs Stimmen, Welche zu fördest auff Geigen Lauten Instrumenten und Orgelwerk gerichtet sind, darein auch zugleich eine Choralstimm auß dem Gesangbuch dess Herrbn D. Martin Luther gantz zierlich deutlich und vornehmlich von Jederman kan mit gesungen werden / oder als daß wenn fünff Personen solche geigen / unter denselben einer bevorauß der Baß ist die Choralstimm singen kann”
published in Erfurt in 1620.
Michael Altenburg was born near Erfurt in 1584 and died in that town in 1640. He was a Lutheran pastor and for some of his life a schoolteacher as well as a musician. All his surviving music is connected directly with the Lutheran religion, though naturally some of it is domestic in character. Another print of 1620 contains two 10-part intradas for opposing choirs of violins and cornetts.
To judge by some of the details of his partwriting in these intradas, Altenburg was not really a professional composer. Yet in spite of their occasional crudities, his pieces do have a kind of naive charm, and can be really effective, especially if a good balance between the chorale and the other parts is achieved. If a singer is not available, a trombone can be used for the melody. When recorders are used, it is important to have an 8-foot instrument on the bass, otherwise inversion of chords will arise when the melody is sung. The repeated chords at the end of each section sound well on strings, but are less effective on heavy wind instruments, and can be replaced by sustained chords if necessary.