Melchior Vulpius was a German singer and composer of church music.

Vulpius came from a poor craftsman's family. He studied at the local school in Wasungen

Wasungen

Wasungen is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Werra, 11 km north of Meiningen.The Pfaffenburg was built in 1378 and reconstructed in 1974.Adelgunda Dietzal lived in Wasungen.- References :...

 (in Thuringia

Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....

) with Johannes Steuerlein. From 1588, he attended the school in Speyer

Speyer

Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...

. After marrying in 1589, he obtained a position at the Gymnasium in Schleusingen

Schleusingen

Schleusingen is a town in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 10 km north of Hildburghausen, and 12 km southeast of Suhl....

. In 1596, he was named cantor in Weimar

Weimar

Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...

.

He wrote and published church music, the best known being the setting of the hymn

Hymn

A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...

 Ach, bleib mit deiner Gnade on a text by Josua Stegmann. This setting was often performed in Protestant churches on New Year's Day

New Year's Day

New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...

 and at the end of the service. Important compilations were Cantiones sacrae (1602, 1604), Kirchengesänge und geistliche Lieder Dr. Luthers (1604), Canticum beatissimae (1605) and Ein schön geistlich Gesangbuch (1609). The Cantional (a collection of songs) was published posthumously in 1646 in Gotha

Gotha (town)

Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...

.

Song melodies

• Der Tag bricht an und zeiget sich
• Die helle Sonn
• Christus, der ist mein Leben
• Jesu, deine Passion
• Hinunter ist der Sonne Schein
• Lobt Gott den Herrn ihr Heiden all
• Ach bleib mit deiner Gnade

List of selected works

• Pars prima Cantionum sacrarum (1602)
• Pars secunda selectissimarum Cantionum sacrarum (1603)
• Kirchen Geseng und Geistliche Lieder D. Martini Lutheri und anderer frommen Christen (1604)
• Erster Theil Deutscher Sonntäglicher Evangelien Sprüche (1612)
• Das Leiden und Sterben Unsers Herrn Erlösers Jesu Christi auß dem heiligen Evangelisten Matthäo (1613, new edition 1981)
• Der ander Theil Deutscher Sonntäglicher Ev. Sprüche (1614)

External links

• Melchior Vulpius (Bach-Cantatas.com)
• Sheet music and MIDIs for some of Vulpius' motets