Tritonius, Petrus (c. 1465–c. 1525)

Austrian composer and scholar. He wrote music for Horatian odes for four voices, and in 1524 published a hymn book containing the text of about 130 hymns and blank staves for the music to be written on.

He studied at Vienna and Ingolstadt universities and later became a teacher of Latin and music at the cathedral school of Brixen. He later studied at Padua University, and while in Italy he met the Viennese professor Conrad Celtis, who invited him to settle at Vienna. Once there, he joined Celtis's circle and wrote a setting of Horatian odes, which were published in 1507. Ludwig Senfl later took the tenor parts of these as canti firmi for his own settings, and Paul Hofhaimer imitated Tritonius's settings. On the death of Celtis in 1508 Tritonius returned to the Tyrol and became director of the Latin school at Bozen. In 1513 he was in Halle, and in 1521 he retired to Schwaz am Inn.

Works Vocal and choral hymns in four parts; odes by Horace and other Latin poems set in four parts, and other pieces.