Born: 1595 - Markdorf, Baden
Died: After 1631 - unknown place

Matthias Spiegler was a German composer and organist. He was a priest and came from a middle-class family of good standing. It is not clear where he obtained his musical education, but it can be assumed that under the auspices of the Prince-Bishop of Konstanz, Jakob Fugger (1567–1626), he was a pupil of Hieronymus Bildstein both at Konstanz and at the episcopal residence at Meersburg on Lake Constance. In his Sancta Maria cantiones (Ravensburg, 1624) he is called ‘Choro atque Organo Constantiae Praefectus’. After 1626 he succeeded Bildstein as head of the church and court music to the prince-bishop, and he still held the post in 1631. He presumably wrote his compositions for performance by the Konstanz and Meersburg musicians, and they are thus scored for a variety of forces.

Two publications by Matthias Spiegler are known. The aforementioned Sancta Maria cantiones comprises 22 motets for three voices and continuo, the initial letters of whose titles form the acrostic Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis. His other publication is Olor Solymaeus nascenti Jesu (Ravensburg, 1631). Of the 56 vocal pieces it contains, 11 are sacred concertos for solo voice and continuo, two of which have obbligato instrumental parts; the rest are motets for two to four voices with continuo. The volume also includes four instrumental pieces – a capriccio and three canzonas (two ed. in EDM, 1^st ser., xiv, 1941).

Source: Grove Music Online, © Oxford University Press 2006, acc. 5/24/06 (Author: Eberhard Stiefel)
Contributed by Thomas Braatz (January 2006, May 2006)

Use of Chorale Melodies in his works

Title

Chorale Melody

Year

Puer natus in Bethlehem, 4-pt. Chorale Motet for 2 Sopranos, 1 Tenor and 1 “Baritono”

Ein Kind geborn zu Bethlehem (Puer natus in Bethlehem)

Links to other Sites

Bibliography

EitnerQ | MGG1 (E. Stiefel) | WaltherML
E. Bohn : Bibliographie der Musik-Druckwerke bis 1700, welche … zu Breslau aufbewahrt werden (Berlin, 1883/R )
R. Mitjana y Gordَn: Catalogue critique et descriptif des imprimés de musique des XVI et XVII siècles conservés à la Bibliothèque royale d’Upsala , i (Uppsala, 1911)
H. Schultz : Introduction and critical commentary to EDM, 1st ser., xiv (1941)

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