Heinrich Grimm (composer)

Heinrich Grimm (* 1593 in Holzminden ; † July 10, 1637 in Braunschweig ; also Henricus Grimmius ) was a German cantor , author and composer.

Life

Grimm was born the son of a tailor in Holzminden. He received his first musical lessons from Michael Praetorius , who led Duke Heinrich Julius' court orchestra in Braunschweig . From 1607 Grimm studied philosophy and theology at the University of Helmstedt .

In 1619 Grimm got a job as a cantor at Magdeburg High School . His title was "Musicus Magdeburgensis Ordinarius" and as such he was also responsible for the figural music of several Magdeburg churches; but he was expressly allowed to perform his own compositions there. He wrote a compendium for school lessons.

When Magdeburg was destroyed in the Thirty Years War on May 20, 1631 ( Magdeburg Wedding ), Grimm fled to Braunschweig, where he was soon determined to succeed Friedrich Weissensee . He became cantor at the Church of St. Katharinen , later the same office was added to St. Andrew . He held these offices until the end of his life.

His son Michael († 1704) became court organist in Celle. He gave the 1643 posthumous motets of his father under the title vestibule Hortuli Harmonici sacri etc. out.

reception

Grimm is considered one of the first representatives of a monodic concert style in Germany, which spread from Italy to Central Europe. Grimm's compositions (145 known works) are usually six to eight voices and impress with their expressiveness. Thematically, they mostly contain texts from psalms or biblical sayings . At the height of his work, Grimm can definitely be compared with the composer Johann Hermann Schein .

Evangelical faith , Grimm was committed to the Orthodox Lutheran tradition . He preferred songs from the Reformation for his cantional movements . In his St. Matthew Passion he followed his example, Johann Walter .

Works (selection)

• Instrumentum instrumentorum, hocest monochordum vel potius decachordum . Wolfenbüttel 1629
• Lessons on how to easily cite a boy in the old Guidonian way of solmizing . Magdeburg 1624

literature

• Moritz Fürstenau:  Grimm, Heinrich . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 9, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1879, p. 678.
• Lothar Hoffmann inheritance law:  Grimm, Heinrich. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 7, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1966, ISBN 3-428-00188-5 , p. 85 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Hermann Lorenzen: The cantor Heinrich Grimm . Dissertation, University of Hamburg 1940.
• Hermann Lorenzen: Heinrich Grimm . In: MGG , Vol. 5, Col. 928-930.
• Thomas Synofzik : Heinrich Grimm (1592 / 93-1637) Cantilena est loquela canens. Studies on tradition and composition technique . Dissertation Cologne 1998. Eisenach 2000.

Web links

• Works by and about Heinrich Grimm in the catalog of the German National Library