Kauffmann, Georg Friedrich 02/14/1679 - 02/27/1735

Georg(e) Friedrich Kauffmann (1679-1735) was a German organist and composer of the baroque period. He was born in Ostramondra. He received his first organ lessons from Johann Heinrich Buttstedt in Erfurt and continued his studies with Johann Friedrich Alberti in Merseburg. From the latter he also took composition lessons.



Sometime after 1723 Kauffmann published, on subscription basis, the "Harmonische Seelenlust", the first printed collection of chorale preludes for organ since Samuel Scheidt's Tabulatura Nova (1624).



Since Kauffmann edited many of the pieces with registration instructions, tempi and suggestions for ornamentation, the collection gives valuable glimpses into the performance practice of the period.