Music, Print and Presentation in Saxony During the Seventeenth Century.

At the start of the seventeenth century composers such as Michael Praetorius, Johann Hermann Schein and Heinrich Schütz saw much of their music into print; at the end of the century, however, musicians such as Johann Kuhnau or Nikolaus Adam Strungk entered print comparatively little, if at all. This article uses the decline in music printing as a way to understand the changing role of music and musicians in society. At the start of the century, the intensity of music printing testified to the Lutheran market for music, but also to the efforts of composers to promote and present themselves in print. After the Thirty Years' War, however, the market for printed music collapsed, as many courts and cities began to expect virtuoso performances and a constant supply of new compositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]