Johann Ulrich Steigleder was baptized on 22 March 1593 in Schwäbisch Hall as the son of Adam Steigleder (1561-1633). Johann Ulrich’s grandfather Utz Steigleder had already been active in Stuttgart as Court Organist and diplomat. His musical roots were in the Southern German tradition of Hans Buchner and his circle. Thus the Steigleders’ family tradition showed close affinity with German, Italian and Dutch organ culture. There is no direct evidence of Johann Ulrich’s ever having had another teacher besides his father. It has been surmised for some time that Johann Jacob Froberger may have been a pupil of Steigleder: while this theory has yet to be confirmed today, Froberger’s ricercari and fantasias do show clear textural connections to Steigleder’s work. The outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War in 1618 spared Wurttemberg no more than it did other regions. In 1634, following the Battle of Nördlingen, imperial troops came in, and in the same year the plague began to spread, claiming Steigleder’s life at the age of 42 on 10 October 1635. Two major collections by Steigleder have been preserved in print: “Ricercar Tabulatura“ (1624) and “Tabulatur Buch Darinnen Daß Vatter unser auff 2. 3 und 4 Stimmen Componirt und viertzig mal Varirt würd” (1626/27). The “Ricercar Tabulatura” came out in the same year as Samuel Scheidt’s “Tabulatura Nova” and is dedicated to Duke Johann Friedrich of Wurttemberg. Both publications represent innovations in the area of notation in Germany, as they make use of modern note types instead of the otherwise current letter tabulature. With Scheidt this takes place in the form of open score, whereas with Steigleder there is a “keyboard system” with two sets of five lines. The twelve Ricercari are not headed by “primi, secundi [...] toni” but are rather arranged by key: D, E, F, G, A, C, whereby D, E, and A are in minor and the others in major. The first five pieces in the collection are in four voices, and the following seven in three voices. Steigleder’s other work, an encyclopedic setting of the Luther hymn “Vater unser im Himmelreich,” was published in 1626-27 by Marx von der Heiden in Strasburg and is dedicated to Duke Carl of Limburg. This volume with its 155 pages is significantly more extensive than the “Ricercar Tabu-latura” and is notated in score form. Here title and annotations are given in German. Steigleder published both collections with pedagogical intent, namely as an introduction to the composition of ricercari and variations. In this respect it is a work for students or organists who have not yet mastered the art of improvising. Also, on account of the required range of the pieces, extending beyond most of the then meantone-tuned organs, many compositions were intended more for the (pedal) clavichord (or harpsichord) than for the organ. In the 16th and 17th centuries organs were ordinarily tuned in meantone. For this reason, in the present recording was realized on the meantone Wilde/Schnitger organ of Lüdingworth (1598/1683). It was given its present form by Arp Schnitger in the years 1680 to 1683. However, Schnitger reused 16 stops made of nearly pure lead from the former organ (1589/99) by Antonius Wilde. Thus this instrument has a uniquely self-contained core from the late 16th century: virtually the entire Hauptwerk and Brustwerk are by Wilde. Schnitger added a Rückpositiv and enlarged the pedal division. Since it may be assumed that organists in the first half of the 16th century routinely played older instruments, we knowingly selected the Lüdingworth organ for the recording of Steigleder’s work, especially given that in the South German area no organ has been preserved that could be appropriate for the performance of Steigleder’s works, not to mention the fact that we do not know on what instrument the composer may have played at the time of composing this music.

AE-10421$40.00