Sweelinck was a renowned organ expert and teacher, particularly influential in Germany where he was called the 'hamburgischen Organistenmacher' for teaching the principal church organists in Hamburg.
Composer Biography
Sweelinck, despite being an organist at the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, was prohibited from playing the organ in services due to the newly Reformed Amsterdam's policies.
Instruments
The harpsichord played on this recording is a copy of Andreas Ruckers' last surviving instrument from 1644, which is notable for being an unaltered original.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Sweelinck's multifaceted late-Renaissance keyboard style shows distinct influences from Italian, particularly Venetian, keyboard music and English music.
Instruments
In 1604, Sweelinck ordered a harpsichord from the Ruckers family, and its lid was painted by Pieter Isaacsz with a design by Karel van Mander, depicting Amsterdam as the center of the world.
Composition History
While Sweelinck's vocal works were printed, his keyboard compositions circulated mainly in manuscripts prepared by his pupils, to whom we owe their preservation.
Composer Biography
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, the composer, was known as the 'Orpheus of Amsterdam' and came from a family of organists.
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