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Born: March 22, 1593 - Schwäbisch Hall, Germany
Died: October 10, 1635 - Stuttgart, Germany |
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Johann [Hans] Ulrich Steigleder was a German composer and organist. He came of an organist family settled at Stuttgart. In 1613 he became organist in Lindau on the Bodensee. In 1617 he was appointed as Stilts-Organist at Stuttgart, in which capacity he had also to serve from 1627 as musician generally to the court of Würtemberg.
Johann Ulrich Steigleder is the first South German organ master of the Baroque (W. Apel, 1972). He is comparable to his contemporaries in the north, Samuel Scheidt and Johann Heinrich Scheidemann.
For the organ Johann Ulrich Steigleder published two works, the first of which is so far remarkable as being the first specimen in Germany of copper-plate engraving for organ or clavier music. As the title informs us, the engraving was by his own hands,
Ricercar Tabulatrura, Organis et Organoedis unice inserviens at maxime conducens a J.U.S. … ejusdemque Autoris sumptibus et manibus propriis Aeri Cupero inscuLpta et excusa. Anno 1624'
Although mentioned by Gerber, this work was unknown to modern musicians, until a copy sent from the Royal (now State) Library at Stuttgart was shown at the Vienna Musical Exhibition of 1892. The engraving is said to be rather coarsely done. Some account of the music is given in Seiffert, Geschichte der Klaviermusik, Bd. I. p. 105. It consists of ricercari of the earlier Italian fugal type. The other published work of Steigleder is entitled,
Tabulatur-Buch darinnen dass Vater Unser auf 2, 3 und 4 Stimmen componirt und vierzig mal variirt würdt . . . auf Orgeln und allen andem Instrumenten ordentlich zu appliciren . . . 1627.
This work consists of forty Bearbeitungen or Variations on the melody of the Vater Unser un Himmelreich, which show the influence of the newer technique of the English-Dutch Variation School of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, as well as of the South German toccata style of George Muflat. Two specimens are given in Ritter, Geschichte des Orgelspiels, Nos. 87 and 88. |
