Johann Heinrich Buttstett

Johann Heinrich Buttstett (also Buttstedt, Buttstädt) (25 April 1666 – December 1, 1727) was a German Baroque organist and composer. Although he was Johann Pachelbel’s most important pupil and one of the last major exponents of the south German organ tradition, Buttstett is best remembered for a dispute with Johann Mattheson. Life Buttstett was born in Bindersleben (now part of Erfurt) into the family of Johann Henricus Buttstett, a well-educated local pastor who had studied at the University of Erfurt. He began studying music at an early age, becoming a pupil of Johann Pachelbel, then organist of Erfurt’s Predigerkirche, in 1678. His professional career began in 1684 at the Reglerkirche and continued at the Kaufmannskirche, where he was working in 1687. In both cases, he was not only the church organist but also teaching in church schools. In 1691, Buttstett succeeded Nicolaus Vetter at the Predigerkirche (Pachelbel quit in 1690 and Vetter, who succeeded him, moved to Rudolstadt in 1691); he remained there until his death 36 years later. Buttstett married Martha Lämmerhirt (a distant cousin of Johann Sebastian Bach’s mother) in 1687 and had ten children with her. In 1716, Buttstet