Cajus Schmiedtlein

Cajus Schmiedtlein (c. 15551611) was a German Renaissance composer and organist and is best known for his time as the organist at St. Mary’s Church, Gdańsk. His name appears in different spelling variants in the Low German dialect (Caj Schmedeke, Key Schmedeke, Schmedecke, Smedeke, Schmedcke, Schmiedeke) and in Standard High German (Cajus Schmiedlein, Caius Schmitlein, Schmidtlein, Schmittlein). Biography Schmiedtlein is assumed to have been born around 1555 in the Dithmarschen district of Northern Germany. For an unspecified period he was active as organist in Husum until 1578, when he became organist at Saint Olaf’s Church, Helsingør. But just a year later had to resign from this post following a controversy over his own initiative to create a pedal division and thus modifying the organ without the church authority’s approval. It is unclear what Schmiedtlein did following his resignation in Helsingør, but it is believed he went to Hamburg. In 1585 Schmiedtlein became the organist at St. Mary’s Church, Gdańsk. He married in 1591 and was awarded the citizenship of the city of Gdańsk. On 2 August 1596 he was one of 54 invited organists to play at the inauguration of the new organ at