Mathias Gastritz

Mathias Gastritz (also Gastharts, Gastatz, Gastritzsch , lat. Castricius ; * around 1535, † December 9, 1596 in Amberg ) was a German organist and composer of the Renaissance .

Mathias Gastritz was appointed organist of the city of Amberg on December 22, 1561 and was in their service for almost 30 years. After legal disputes and personal grievances, he resigned from office in 1589. The composer Andreas Raselius was probably one of his students .

Gastritz's compositions follow the older motet tradition of the 16th century. They are characterized by a transparent imitation technique and syllabic text declamation ; Polyphonic initial imitations mostly lead to a clear, homophonic set of notes . One of his most famous compositions is the five-part song set Herzlich lieb I have you, oh Lord, based on a text by Martin Schalling (1569).

Works

• Novae harmonicae cantiones ut piae, ita etiam suaves et iucundae, quinque vocibus cocinnante, et nunc primum in lucem editae. Nuremberg 1569, U. Neuber (with Latin preface, Latin ode Georg Ludwig Agricolas and a letter from Martin Luther to Ludwig Senfl )
• German and Latin songs with 4 voices. Nuremberg 1569
• Kurtze et al. Special Newe Symbola of a number of princes and lords, besides other more beautiful little songs with five and four voices, to be used on all instruments entirely official, composed. Nuremberg 1571

literature

• Moritz Fürstenau :  Gastritz, Matthias . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1878, p. 408.
• Helmut Schwämmlein : Mathias Gastritz, a composer of the "Upper Palatinate" in the 16th century - life and work. Bosse, Regensburg no year 1985, ISBN 3-7649-2313-X .

Web links

• Literature by and about Mathias Gastritz in the catalog of the German National Library
• Mathias Gastritz in the Bavarian Musicians' Lexicon Online (BMLO)
• Heike Nasritdinova:  Gastritz, Mathias . Entry in the database of the Oberpfälzer Kulturbund (currently not available)