His works (from 1526) were masses, motets, hymns, German part-songs, etc., in a style that united the old strictness with something of Venetian richness. Although a Catholic, he was a friend of Luther, and the latter greatly admired his music. Ludwig Daser (d. 1589), born at Munich in 1520, was from 1552 courtchoirmaster there till displaced by Lassus in 156o, then from 1571 court-choir master at Stuttgart. Though a worthy composer, his works, mostly masses, remain in MS., except a Passion (1578).
Orlandus de Lassus [Orlando di Lasso] (d. 1594) was born at Mons (Hainaut) in 1532. His boy's voice gave him a dangerous notoriety, so that about 1544 he was abducted and taken to Palermo and Milan in the service of .Ferdinand Gonzaga. About 1550 he passed into another noble's service at . Naples and Rome. He is said to have visited England, but settled at Antwerp. Called thence in 1556 to Munich, he became court-choirmaster in 1560, and continued in office and in great honor till about 1590, when he broke down mentally through overwork. His life and Palestrina's were almost exactly contemporaneous, but it is not known that they ever met. Lassus had the great advantage of travel and of constant contact with culture amid unbroken appreciation. Though his office 'was laborious and difficult, requiring great executive ability, his patron spared nothing to keep the Chapel one of the best in Europe. The duke being a stanch Catholic, most of Lassus' sacred works' were of the mass or motet class, but freedom of treatment was encouraged. His most celebrated work was the Penitential Psalms (1584). Secular works of every description were also welcomed, including not only stately madrigals, but also sprightly canzonets, drinking-songs - even musical jokes. The list of his compositions (from 1552) is enormous - al 1110st 25°° separate works, now published in a standard edition. He had Inany pupils, of whom Eccard and Reiner were perhaps the foremost. Of Lassus' co-laborers, mention may be made of Ivo de Vento (d. 1575), a Spaniard, organist from I 569 (motets and good German part-songs from 1569).
Not far west of Munich is the much older Augsburg, the capital of Swabia, prominent in the 16th century as a centre for music-publishing, Here a notable patronage came from the wealthy Barons Fugger. Among earlier composers were Sigismund Salbinger, an ex-monk, who edited valuable collections of part-songs (1540-9); jacob van Kerle (d. c. 1583), a Netherlander, first in service at Cambrai, then in Italy, from 1562 under the Cardinal of Augsburg (sacred works from 1558); and the able Eccard (d. 161I), already mentioned (sec. 62).
Adam Gumpeltzhaimer (d. 1625), born in 1559, was musically trained in an Augsburg monastery, was then a general teacher, and from 1581 cantor at one of the churches, being also employed by the Duke of Wiirttemberg. Besides a theoretical work (1591), he produced a quantity of motets, psalms and partsongs (from 1591) that show him to have been a careful student of both old and new styles.
Hans Leo Hassler (d. 1612), born in 1564 at Nuremberg, was one of the earliest Germans to seek instruction in Italy, where he studied with A. Gabrieli at Venice. In 1585 he became organist to Baron Fugger at Augsburg and later also at the cathedral, whence, in 1601, he was called to Nuremberg and in 1608 to the 'Royal Chapel at Dresden. His diversified works, sacred and secular (from 1590), not only show Venetian influence, as in the use of double choirs, but indicate the German genius for harmony, with important efforts to utilize artistically the folk-music of various peoples. His was a singularly enterprising and influential genius, sometimes ranked with that of Palestrina and Lassus. His two brothers, Jakob Hassler (d. c. 1611), a famous organ-virtuoso at Hechingen and Prague, and Kaspar Hassler (d. 1618), organist at Nuremberg (sacred collections from 1598), are also to be named.
Lassus and the South German Masters
