Valentin Rab

Valentin Rab, also known as Rabe, Corvus or Corvinus, was a German composer, probably born in Lössnitz around 1522 and died in Marienberg on 17 April 1596. He belonged to the group of Upper Saxon musicians who, following in the wake of Thomas Stoltzer, promoted the German psalm motet on texts by Luther from 1546 onwards, a tradition that long endured.

After serving as cantor in Schneeberg around 1540, he matriculated at Wittenberg in June 1542. There he may have attended lectures by Dietrich and Coclico, as well as those of Luther, Melanchthon and other professors, though it is probable that he did. He appears to have remained in Wittenberg until around 1550. From 1554 until his death he was cantor at the Lyceum Mariaemontanum in Marienberg.

Thirty-one of his works are known, many surviving only in fragments or documented in archives, and an indeterminate number of hymn harmonisations are also lost. His style shows the imprint of Josquin's late works. Technically, his German motets are not especially distinguished, but those devoted to political or Lutheran texts achieve remarkable expressive intensity through their declamation and rhetorical devices. His psalm motets of 1547 to 1550 reflect his stance on the Schmalkaldic War and the Interims, although they were not conceived for liturgical use.