The German organist and composer Samuel Scheidt was born in Halle in 1587 and represents the first generation of German composers in the Baroque period. He was court Kapellmeister at Halle, first to the Margrave of Brandenburg and then, when conditions again allowed in the course of the Thirty Years War, to Duke August of Saxony.

Church Music
Scheidt wrote a large quantity of church music for the German Protestant liturgy. Latin compositions included settings of the Magnificat.

Organ Music
The most important source for Scheidt’s keyboard works, especially for organ, is the three-volume Tabulatura nova (1624). Scheidt’s organ pieces include a number based on chorales. He also wrote fantasias, toccatas, canons and dance movements for the instrument.

Ensemble Music
Scheidt wrote a number of works for instrumental ensemble in various dance forms, though relatively little survives today.