Fridolin Sicher

Fridolin Sicher ( born March 6, 1490 Bischofszell, Switzerland, † June 13, 1546 ) was a Swiss organist and calligrapher.

Life and work

In 1503 was awarded the 13 -year-old Fridolin Sicher organ lessons for a year when Constance organist Martin Vogelmaier. Then he had to have devoted themselves beside his organ playing and the study of theological writings, but it was awarded the St. Agnes benefice in 1510 by the canons of his hometown Bischofszell. In the same year there began Certainly his organist activity and held a year later his first mass. In 1512 he interrupted his activities and moved again to Constance to learn this time during a year at the famous organist Hans Buchner. This in turn had been a pupil of the renowned organist Paul Hofhaimer.

Fridolin Sicher went to the post of organist at the St. Gallen monastery probably in 1516. In addition, the St. Gall Abbot Franz von Gaisberg appointed him chaplain of the chapel of St. Jacob. Another activity was the safest in the monastery of the books writing. Even today there are several volumes of his works in the Abbey Library of St. Gallen.

Although safest main activities were in St. Gallen, he cared but always about matters in Bischofszell. With the advent of the Reformation in Eastern Switzerland and the safest refusal to join the new faith, but he was finally forced to give up his activities in St. Gallen and Bischofszell. It is tentatively called last in Bischofszell in 1530.

Between 1531 and 1536 lived safely in Ensisheim in Alsace, where he also was active musically. In 1537 he returned and probably took his benefice in Bischofszell again. Whether he continued all his previous activities in St. Gallen, is not known. In his last years he served in any case again as a writer of books in the monastery.

Safest Orgeltabulatur

Since 1512 helped secure 176 pieces by 94 composers. About two -thirds of which is sacred vocal music, the other third form secular songs. The Importance of Safe 's Orgeltabulatur lies in the fact that from the time before 1550 otherwise only a few organ tablatures are obtained. In addition, some of the compositions in safest Orgelbuch are only handed down in this. The tablature of Fridolin Sicher is still located in the Abbey Library of St. Gallen and is in the virtual library " codices Electronici Sangallenses » ( CESG ) available online.