Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621) - a Renaissance "pop star" from Amsterdam!
In his day, people came from afar to listen to the music by this famous man.
As city appointed and employed organist, Sweelinck, especially renowned for his improvisations, had already played public organ concerts at the Calvinist Oude Kerk (aka Nikolaikerk) since 1577. There, he had two formidable instruments by organ builder Hendrik Niehoff (ca. 1495 - 1560) at this disposal: The great organ II/P 25 and a second, smaller organ II/P 13 manufactured for the northern transept.
Famed as "Orpheus of Amsterdam" throughout Europe, he attracted both admirers and a large number of students.
Almost all organists in Northern Germany studied with Sweelinck so that he was called the "Hamburg organist
maker".
Sweelinck also played the harpsichord, e.g. at receptions of the City of Amsterdam, where the envoy of Venice heard him and praised the art of the organist.
I recorded some of his compositions - with the secular dance variations being particularly multifaceted - on different HAUPTWERK organ sample sets:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMOvOfmI9GwEnjoy!
Regards, Fred