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Born: March 12, 1515 - Amberg, Germany
Died: February 4, 1553 - Nürnberg, Germany |
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Caspar Othmayr was a German composer. A student at Heidelberg University from 1533 and pupil of Lemlin there, he was a schoolmaster at Heilsbronn, near Ansbach, from 1545 and briefly held ecclesiastical posts in Ansbach 1547-8 before going to Nürnberg.
With Ludwig Senfl and Hofhaimer, Caspar Othmayr raised the German polyphonic song to a new level of artistic achievement and sophistication; he was the foremost German composer of the generation after L. Senfl, and a Lutheran. He wrote about 230 pieces, all but two of them vocal, in most sacred and secular genres of his time, except the Mass. Most of his works are based on pre-existing melodies. Many of his songs were included in the anthologies of his fellow-student Forster, and his style was fresher and less conservative than that of some of his contemporaries. |
