Heaven Is My Fatherland: The Life and Work of Michael Praetorius

Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) was one of the most versatile wide-ranging and prolific German composers of the seventeenth century also important as a theorist and the most often quoted and excerpted writer on performance practice. 2021 marks the four hundredth anniversary of this Lutheran musicians death and the four hundred and fiftieth anniversary of his birth. Yet until now no biography of this multitalented and fascinating man has been made available in English. This translation of Siegfried Vogelsangers 2008 German biography of Praetorius will introduce you to Praetoriuss family and employers his work as organist and court music director his sacred and secular musical compositions his historical and theoretical musical work his grandiose goals and plans and--most importantly--the man himself. Appendices provide new insights into Praetoriuss ancestry and life as well as new translations of primary sources written by Praetorius and others. Richly furnished with pictures and illustrations and supplemented with a glossary Heaven Is My Fatherland will transport you into Praetoriuss world and open up for you the convictions of his heart.