We have already spoken of the important influence exerted by the folk-song on the German church music of the sixteenth century. Hassler was the first to attain a blending of the folk-song style with that of older counterpoint. He was aided in his striving by a study of the Italian madrigals and villanelle. His dance-songs are especially rich in melodic feeling, and show that in the art of melodic phrasing he followed closely in the footsteps of the Italians. With the development of the instrumental accompaniment early in the seventeenth century there came certain changes of style. The ever-increasing tendency of the time to allow the melody to stand forth more prominently began to modify the nature of the harmonic setting. The songs of Jeep (1582–1650), and of his rival, Valentin Hausmann, show degeneracy, while the songs of Adam Krieger (1634–66) and Johann Krieger (1652–1736) are noble examples of the new style. The melodies of Johann Krieger are particularly charming, and show strong rhythmical character and real artistic power. He employs simple harmonies, yet shows more freedom and naturalness in modulation than any of his predecessors. We perceive in the music of these German masters the universal sway which Italian opera already began to exercise. The opera—as the special article on Italian music fully describes—had its beginning in Italy just at the dawn of the seventeenth century. “Mysteries” and “liturgical dramas”—both of them crude stage representations of episodes in biblical history—had been common in Germany long before this time; and the church musicians—Isaak, Senfl, Walther, Lasso and others—had worked to some extent in this field. But it was not until the great Monteverde (1568–1643) had embodied in his operatic works the results obtained by the Bardi society of connoisseurs, and not until Carissimi had done similar service for the oratorio, that the new principles began to take root and develop in Germany. Johann Kapsberger, a composer, who resided at Rome from 1610 to 1630, was the first German to adopt, to a considerable extent, the new ideas concerning vocal composition. But there soon arose in Germany a number of composers who cultivated the new style, especially the oratorio, without losing their German characteristics. Johann Gottlieb Staden (1581–1636), for instance, was a Nuremberg composer of operettas. He had for his motto in art, “Italians know not all, for Germans, too, have thoughts.” The works of Staden show that the Germans from the outset had a tendency to characterize the personages of the drama by the accompanying music. Unfortunately the music of the first serious opera, “Dafne,” by Heinrich Schütz, the words of which were translated from the text of Rinuccini, has been lost. Although a considerable amount of creative energy was bestowed on “Singspiele” and operas, especially by amateurs, it was not until theatres were established in Germany that the opera enjoyed a