Composer Melchior Vulpius was an important musical figure during the first century of Protestantism in Germany. His hymns and sacred songs are still used today in both Protestant and Catholic worship. Little is known of Vulpius' early life. He was born around 1570 in Wasungen, in Germany's Thuringia region. His birth name was Melchior Fuchs; he Latinized his surname to Vulpius ("Fuchs" and "vulpis" mean "fox") as a student. His father was a craftsman, and he started out attending a school in his hometown, but somehow his musical talent was recognized. In 1588, he is recorded as having studied music and Latin in the ancient cathedral city of Speyer, hundreds of kilometers away from Thuringia. He married in 1589 and was hired to teach Latin and to compose music at a school in Schleusingen, back in Thuringia. His appointment was made permanent there in 1592, and he was given the added post of Kantor at Lutheran services. In 1596, Vulpius accepted a similar position, involving teaching, singing, and composition, at the Latin School in the larger city of Weimar. He remained there until he died on August 7, 1615. Vulpius was extremely prolific in Weimar. He wrote a complete cycle of four-voice settings of Scripture passages (in German, Sprüche) for the entire Lutheran liturgical year, nearly 200 Lutheran motets, a St. Matthew Passion that was performed in Scandinavia as well as Germany, and about 400 hymns and religious songs. Some of these remain in use and appear in print in both Lutheran and Catholic hymnals. Vulpius' compositions were compiled in five publications, plus a sixth, a Cantional, that appeared more than 30 years after his death. His works are less commonly heard on recordings than one might suppose considering his renown in his time, but more than 60 of them have been recorded. ~ James Manheim