Johannes Eccard

Eccard was active in the Weimar court, Munich, Muhlhausen, Augsburg, Konigsberg, Ansbach and Brandenburg. He was a student of Burck and Lassus. The substantial portion of his compositional output were Lutheran chorales but he also wrote motets, lieder, occasional pieces, odes and sacred orders. Eccard contributed to two different manners of chorale development: 1. The melody being carried by the highest part (rather than the tenor) and harmonized from there. 2. Liberated polyphony. His harmonies were deceptive in that they gave the impression of being polyphonic. If t...