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Hans Leo Hassler wrote the tune PASSION CHORALE, to which we sing "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded." He was born at Nuremberg, Bavaria and studied under his father, who was a renowned organist. Hassler also studied in Italy, but he returned to Germany and enjoyed several important positions as a musician.
In 1655, he became organist to Octavian II of the house of Fuggers in Ausburg. After Octavian died, Hassler went to Prague and became court organist to Emperor Rudolph II. While in Prague, he also manufactured and installed musical clocks. In 1601, he became organist to the Frauenkirche and chief Kapellmeister of Nurnberg.
Describing Hassler's life, critics have said, "He is one of the most outstanding composers of his day. He is one of the founders of German music." His works include a large number of secular and sacred choral works, including Psalmen und christliche Gesang, 1607, which contained fifty-two elaborate motet-form settings of chorale melodies and I>Kirchengesange, Psalmen und geistliche Lieder, 1608, with seventy simpler settings of chorale melodies.