A Tribute to Composer Andreas Hammerschmidt

Heir to Schütz and forerunner of Bach, Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611–1675) was one of the most celebrated composers of sacred music in the Holy Roman Empire – and yet today he is largely forgotten. This year Saxony commemorates the 350th anniversary of his death. In Berlin, Ensemble Titans Rising pays homage in concert, while Ensemble Clématis, with Capucine Keller and Maxime Melnik, release a recording of his Song of Songs-inspired love dialogues.

A neglected yet essential composer

Across Saxony, and especially in the small town of Zittau near the Polish and Czech borders, 2025 is dedicated to the memory of Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611–1675), known in his day as the “Orpheus of Zittau”. Though little remembered now, he was a leading figure of 17th-century sacred music: organist, teacher and prolific composer, shaping the musical life of Protestant parishes across Germany. A pupil of Heinrich Schütz, he played a crucial role in blending the Lutheran tradition with the innovations of Italy – madrigalisms, word-painting and expressive text setting.

A life marked by the Thirty Years’ War

In the early 17th century, tensions between Catholics and Lutheran Protestants escalated in Bohemia, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1618, Protestants rose up against Habsburg rule, famously hurling two imperial governors from the windows of Prague Castle – the Defenestration of Prague, which triggered the Thirty Years’ War. Two years later, on 8 November 1620, the Protestant uprising was crushed at the Battle of White Mountain near Prague.

Passionate about early music and want to read this subscriber-only article?

If you are not a subscriber, join the international Total Baroque community. Subscribe here from 5.00€.

I subscribe

If you are already a subscriber, sign in.

I sign in