Moritz Landgraf of Hessen
Engraving by Matthäus Merian

Moritz (1572 – 1632), sometimes known as “der Gelehrter” became Landgraf of Hessen in 1592, and ruled there until 1627, when, wearied by the traumas of the Thirty Year’s War, he abdicated in favour of his son Otto.  He took his music very seriously, studying with his Kappellmeister Georg Otto, and during his thirty-five years in power he was an important patron of the arts: John Dowland and William Brade were among the more gifted musicians to spend some time working for him.

To us today a most interesting aspect of the manuscript is its inclusion of specific instrumentation, which is important not just for its rarity value, but also because the scorings given are really quite varied, and give us a lot to think about.