SWEELINCK, JAN PIETERSZOON  

Sweelinck was born in the Hanseatic town of Deventer in 1562, the son of a professional musician. It must be supposed that his son had his early musical training from his father and certainly his general education under the guidance of the Catholic Jacob Buyck, priest of the Oude Kerk (old church) until the changes of 1578. Later musical studies suggest that he may have been a pupil of Jan Willemszoon, later surnamed Lossy, in Haarlem. It seems probable that Sweelinck succeeded his father’s position as organist of the Oude Kerk in 1577, since an obituary tribute credits him with 44 years in a position that he certainly held until his death in 1621.

At the Oude Kerk, Sweelinck established himself as a musician of growing international importance, attracting pupils from the Netherlands and from North Germany, and the English composers and performers, including Peter Philips and John Bull. As an organist his playing won admiration and it may be supposed that his duties, under the new Protestant civic administration, which would have involved daily performances, especially something thus becoming of a tourist attraction. In the earlier years, after the death of his father, he encountered obvious financial difficulties, but these were alleviated by help from well placed friends of the family, and in later years brought substantial rewards from the authorities and from pupils. Through the latter he exercised a strong influence over music in North Germany and Scandinavia, not least through musicians such as Samuel Scheidt and his younger brother Gottfried. He was an acknowledged expert on the construction of the organ and was called upon for his advice by a number of Dutch cities