Jacob (also: Jacobus) Praetorius, or Jacob Schultz (* 8 February 1586 in Hamburg; † 21 or 22 October 1651 in Hamburg) was a German organist and composer.
Jacob Praetorius' grandfather Jacob Praetorius the Elder and his Hieronymus Praetorius (1560-1629) were organists at the ''Hauptkirche St. Jakobi'' (St. James' Church) in Hamburg. He received his first lessons from his father.
Praetorius was appointed at the age of 18 as the successor to Heinrich thor Molen in 1604 to the organist position at the ''St. Petri-Kirche'' (St. Peter's Church) in Hamburg which he occupied until his death. Based on the latest research, Praetorius beginning in 1606 remained for two years in Amsterdam, Holland in order to study under Pieterszoon Sweelinck. It appears that he was one of his first students. Sweelinck composed in 1608 for Praetorius' wedding a motet. Jacob Praetorius had three sons and three daughters. His son Hieronymus also became a musician.
His compositional repertoire mainly encompasses motets, organ pieces and galliards. In addition he made a name for himself as a teacher for organ and composition within the scope of his work at ''St. Peter's Church'' in Hamburg. Praetorius was a contemporary of Heinreich Scheidemann. Matthias Weckmann and Berendt Petri are considered among his most prominent students.
Source: Wikipedia 29.3.2017
(Note: Translated from the German language version into English)
