Heinrich Schütz

Schütz was a German Lutheran composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before J.S. Bach, and, along with Monteverdi, often considered to be one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He studied in Venice with Giovanni Gabrieli and may also have studied with Monteverdi. His surviving compositions, almost all for solo and ensemble voices (many with continuo), display a transition between modal and tonal writing, and are notable for their dramatic expressivity.