Conrad Paumann

Conrad Paumann was a German organist, lutenist and composer of the early Renaissance. Born blind, he became one of the most talented musicians of the 15th century, and his performances created a sensation wherever he went. He is grouped among the composers known as the Colorists.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Conrad Paumann.

From the period sources

Conrad Paumann, a native of Nuremberg, was born blind around 1410, yet rose to an honored position as a musician and a fine organ-player, according to Grove’s Dictionary (1904). His musical gifts were cultivated from childhood under the protection of Ulrich Grundherr, a burgher of Nuremberg, and later by Grundherr’s son, Paul. Paumann was appointed organist at the church of S. Sebald in Nuremberg by 1446, the same year he and his wife, Margaret Weichserin, pledged not to leave the city without permission. His prominence is underscored by Hans Rosenplüt’s 1447 poem, which praised him as both an organist and contrapuntist.

Paumann’s fame spread across Europe, and he received gifts from figures such as Emperor Friedrich III and the Duke of Ferrara, as recorded in a manuscript quoted by A. F. Oefele (1763). He was also a noted lute-player, with Martin Agricola (1532) alluding to Paumann’s invention of lute tablature, an alphabetical notation for the instrument. In 1467, Paumann became court organist to Duke Albrecht III in Munich, where he died in 1473. His tombstone in the Frauenkirche depicts him playing the organ and identifies him as “Ritter” or knight, a title received from the Pope, according to Grove’s Dictionary (1904). His significant work, the “Fundamentum organisandi,” a manuscript from 1452, contains early examples of two- and three-part contrapuntal exercises, though A History of Pianoforte-Playing and Pianoforte-Literature (1897) notes their monotonous character and “ill-sounding parallel fifths and octaves.” The “Ars organisandi” was later published by music-seller Friedrich Wilhelm Arnold (1900).