Jacob Praetorius the Elder
Jacob Praetorius (I) or Jacob Praetorius the Elder (c. 1520 in Magdeburg – 1586 in Hamburg) was a German organist and composer. He was the father of Hieronymus Praetorius and the grandfather of Jacob Praetorius the Younger, both also composers.
Jacob Praetorius the Elder
- Born
- 1530 · Magdeburg.
- Died
- 1586 · Hamburg.
- Nationality
- Germany
- Occupation
- composer
- Movements
- German Renaissance
- Teachers
- Martin Agricola
- Languages
- German
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wikidata · Q71963 · wikipedia · Jacob Praetorius the Elder
In this article
Life
Life
Little is known about his life. He probably studied under Martin Agricola. From 1555 until his death he was the organist and church-composer at two churches in Hamburg. In 1554 he published a collection of choral works. In 1566 he published a collection of 200 works by Dutch and German composers under the title Opus musicum excellens et novum - only one of those works (a Te Deum in four parts) is by Praetorius himself, of which only the first part has survived. A Veni in hortum meum a 4 has also survived, either by Jacob Praetorius the Elder or his grandson Jacob Praetorius the Younger.
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Magdeburg.
Birth place
Hamburg.
Death place
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Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Jacob Praetorius the Elder, revision 1369333110 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 20 August 2026.
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