Heinrich Faber

Heinrich Faber, also known in his youth as Hainrich Lichtenfels, was a German music theorist and composer born in Lichtenfels before 1500 and who died in Oelsnitz in 1552. His career belongs to the context of the Lutheran Reformation, and his importance lies chiefly in his treatises, which were used for generations in Protestant schools.

It has been suggested that he may have been a singer in Copenhagen, at the court of King Christian II of Denmark, between 1515 and 1524, although this identification is doubtful. As early as 1538 he was working as a teacher at the Benedictine monastery of St George in Naumburg. He entered the University of Wittenberg in 1542 and obtained the degree of Master of Arts three years later. In 1544 he was appointed rector of the cathedral school in Naumburg, but his defence of Lutheran doctrine brought him into conflict with the Catholic authorities, and around 1549 he left the city. In 1551 he taught music in Wittenberg, and at the time of his death he was rector in Oelsnitz.

His reputation rests on three theoretical works. The Compendiolum musicae, published in Brunswick in 1548, was an introductory manual that went through more than thirty editions, the last in 1665, and which several composers, such as Melchior Vulpius and Adam Gumpeltzhaimer, revised. Its pedagogical value is considerable, and it also includes vocal duets composed by Faber himself for his pupils to practise. The Ad musicam practicam introductio, from Nuremberg, 1550, follows the customary scheme of the period and shows a conservative approach, with numerous polyphonic examples by Josquin and his generation. Finally, the Musica poetica, of 1548, deals with humanist aspects and compares extemporised vocal performance with composed music, firmly defending the latter.

Faber left a lasting mark on Lutheran music pedagogy. His stance towards improvisation was shared by other German teachers, whereas Adrianus Petit Coclico, although he agreed with the diagnosis concerning Germany, defended improvisation as a valuable art.