Born in Nuremburg on November 5, 1494, Hans Sachs, after attending a Latin school, completed a shoemaking apprenticeship from 1509 to 1511, whereupon he embarked on a five-year journeyman's tour, as was the custom of the time. It was while temporarily serving at the court of Emperor Maximilian I in Innsbruck that he decided to study Meistersang (master singing). He then began taking lessons with Master Lienhard Nunnenbeck in Munich that same year . In 1516, Sachs finally settled in Nuremberg, became a master shoemaker in 1520, an active member of the Meistersingers' Guild, and, around 1555 became its chairman. As a "Master Singer" he wrote over 6000 pieces of various kinds in a wide range of styles and forms—including more than 4,000 songs—his productivity especially remarkable as he kept working as a shoemaker throughout his life. He is best known today as the basis for the main character in Richard Wagner's epic comic opera, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg from 1868.
On Wednesday's Classical Music with Foley Schuler, in honor of the Meistersinger Hans Sach's birthday, we'll hear Wagner opera, as well as music composed by Sachs himself—and much more.
You can hear Foley Schuler's musical selections—and stories behind the music—every weekday afternoon on Blue Lake Public Radio.
