Christoph Peter
Aliases: Christoph Petræus; Christophoro Petræo
Life
Born: 1626
Died: 4 December 1669
Biography
Christoph Peter [Petraeus] was a German composer and music editor. His first appointment was as schoolmaster and Kantor at Grossenhain, Saxony. He moved in 1655 to Guben, where he was Kantor until his death. He worked closely there with the poet and civic official Johann Franck. 40 melodies in the latter’s Geistliches Sion (1672), the first part of his Teutsche Gedichte, are by Peter, and he referred to Peter’s skills in the second part, Irdischer Helicon (1674). Peter’s Andachts-Zymbeln is an anthology of chorales by various composers which also contains preliminary instructional matter, a letter of 1524 from Martin Luther to Spalatin, and testimonials to Peter from Franck and others. It may well be significant that he inscribed it to the mayor and corporation of Guben in the year in which he arrived at Guben and that he received rights of citizenship there early the following year. Precationis thuribulum (RISM 16691) consists of masses based on familiar chorales and motets by Saxon composers, and set for various combinations of voices and instruments with continuo. The Geistliche Arien includes settings of poems by, among others, Johann Franck, Johann Rist and Paul Gerhardt, and Peter explained that they are for solo voice (with instruments) ‘so that the words can be better understood’.
Reference: Bach Cantatas Website
View the Wikipedia article on Christoph Peter.
List of choral works
- Missa VII a 5 voc. super Beweise Herr dein wunderlich Güte
- Missa VIII a 5 voc. super Venga
- Missa X ab 8 voc. super Das neugeborne Kindelein
- Missa XII - super In te Domine
Click here to search for this composer on CPDL
Publications
- Geistliche Arien (Guben, 1667)
- Precationis thuribulum (Guben, 1669)
External links
add web links here