Heinrich Schütz

Born in 1585, Schütz crossed the Alps to absorb the Italian style, then brought it back to the Electoral Chapel in Dresden, where he wrote most of his music for Lutheran services. In 1627 he staged Dafne at Torgau, traditionally considered the first German opera; the music is lost, along with nearly all his ceremonial and theatrical work. What survived - more than 500 pieces - kept evolving through decades of war and upheaval, pushing sacred music from Renaissance forms into early Baroque drama. He died in 1672, a century before Bach, whose shadow would eventually swallow his name. Some North American Lutheran churches commemorate him on 28 July alongside Bach and Handel.