Gottfried August Homilius (b Rosenthal, Saxony, 1714; d Dresden 1785)

Homilius was an important musical figure in late eighteenth-century Germany, and he was one of the best-known Protestant church composers of his day. Although he studied
Law at Leipzig University, he always considered music his primary focus, and he studied composition and keyboard with Bach during the time he was in Leipzig. In 1755 he was appointed music director at Dresden's three principal churches, a post he held until he suffered a stroke in 1784. His compositional output includes works in almost every genre of church music, and they were performed widely during his lifetime.