'The famous kapellmeister of Gdańsk' (berühmter Capellmeister in Danzig) - it was with such a complimentary introduction that Johann Mattheson began his entry about Johann Valentin Meder in his famous compendium Grundlage ei ner Ehren-Pforte, published in 1740. A similarly flattering opinion about the composer was expressed by Ernst Ludwig Gerber in 1790. The fact that Meder was mentioned in these lexicons and that his works were so highly praised bears testimony to the composer's reputation shortly after his death, receiving more accolades than other writers of music of equal or even greater talent. Johann Valentin Meder was bom in 1649. He was from the small town of Wasungen in Thuringia, the fifth and youngest son of Anna and Johann Erhard Meder. Baptised on 3rd May 1649 at the Church of the Holy Trinity, where his father was the cantor. It may be assumed that he grew up surrounded by music. His father undoubtedly must have seen to it that not only Johann but also all the other children acquired an education that included music. It must have been comprehensive and meaningful, since all of the sons decided to become musicians and earn their livings as such. Johann Friedrich Meder (1639-1689), who was ten years older than Johann Valentin, took over after their father as the cantor in Wasungen. Two other brothers, Johann Nicolaus and Martenus, found employment as musicians not far from their place of birth, the form er becoming a can tor in Salzungen, and the latter an organist in Meiningen. Yet another brother, David Bernhard Med er, left Thuringia and moved to Copenhagen, where for years he played the organ at the Church of Our Lady (Vor Frue Kirke) - the most important church in Denmark. Johann Valentin Meder spent his childhood and youth in Wasungen. Before becoming a musician, he also studied at German universities. ln 1669, at the age of twenty, he began to study theology in Leipzig. He continued these studies at the University of Jena, but only for a year. ln Leipzig, he certainly did not shy away from contacts with musicians, as is evidenced by the entries in his diary. Among those he knew was the cantor at the Church of St Thomas, Sebastian Knüpfer. After a short academic education, in 1670, Meder returned to his home territory. He visited his brother in Wasungen and then his brother in Salzungen. It seems that these meetings helped in determining his future, that is, he decided to continue the family tradition and, like his four brothers, become a professional musician. A time began in his life of looking for an appropriate post, a time of travelling from city to city, country to country, in search for the right position. His musical peregrinations started in Eisenach, and then towards the end of 1671 he stopped at Gotha. There he found employment as a singer at the court of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha Ernst I. N ext he visited among other cities, Kassel, Bremen and Hamburg. Finally he stopped in Copenhagen, no doubt to visit his brother David Bernhard. He arrived in April 1674 and remained until June. Unable to find employment there, he moved on with a view to obtaining a post at the royal court in Stockholm. On the way he stopped in Lubeck, where Dietrich Buxtehude had been active since 1668. Meeting the outstanding organist at St Mary's Church (Marienkirche) must have been a great experience for the young musician, all the more so because Buxtehude had agreed to leave a dedication in his album, dated 2th June 1674 with a melody Canon duplex per Augmentationem. The next stop in Meder's travels was Tallinn (Reval). He arrived in the summer of 1674, after a vacancy had been created following the recent death of the cantor at the city's gymnasium. Apart from Meder, applying for this post were Daniel Nebel from Germany and Georg Hube from Narva. The city authorities decided that the prestigious post of the most important cantor in Tallinn should go to Johann Valentin Meder, whose advantage was, in addition to musical talent, experience in studying theology. His duties, apart from those as cantor at the gymnasium, were to conduct musicians during the liturgies of two of the city's main churches of St Olaf and St Nicholas. He stayed in Tallinn for nine years, leaving the city towards the end of 1683. His next destination was Jelgava (Mi tau), where he was briefly employed the court of the Duke of Courland and Semigallia, Frederick Casimir Kettler. Then he travelled to Riga, but was unable to find any permanent employment. The term 'Capellmeister' appearing in the City Council minutes is incorrect, because extant archival materials state that Meder was employed in Riga as a singer and a music teacher. In the summer of 1686, the composer arrived in Gdańsk. His presence in the city is confirmed in the cash register, with an entry of 27th July that year stating that 'for certain clock matters' ('aus gewißen Uhrsachen') he was awarded 45 marks. This was most probably remuneration for preparing Protestant melodies for the Main Town Hall carillon. This is because in Gdańsk, this mechanical instrument was commonly referred to as 'the singing clock' ('
