Heinrich Schütz

Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672) is the central German composer personality following the dawn of a new musical epoch around 1600. His special accomplishment lay in connecting the new achievements in Italian music, which he had learned from Giovanni Gabrieli in Venice, with the German language. Schütz composed works of great poignancy and expressiveness that are marked by carefulness in declamation and textual illumination. The centre of his work was the electoral court in Dresden, where Schütz was Kapellmeister for many decades. Long trips and extended stays abroad deepened his influence on the music of his time.