Praetorius, Michael

Michael Praetorius (1571(?)-1621), the son of a German (Thuringian) Lutheran pastor, was one of the early Baroque composers. His name is a Latinized form of the German family name: Praetorius and Schultheiss both mean "magistrate." He wrote secular pieces but is most remembered for his sacred works, many of which are part of the western Christian corpus. Many of these are collected in the Lutheranische Messe zum Weihnachtsmorgen (Lutheran Mass for Christmas Morning), which is a sung setting of the Communion liturgy featuring choir and congregational interplay.