Praetorius, Michael, 1571-1621, German composer and musicographer, whose name originally was Schultheiss. He was a prolific composer, his Musae Sioniae (9 vol., 1605-11) alone containing 1,244 choral works. Now he is remembered chiefly for his Syntagma musicum (3 vol., 1615-19), which minutely describes the musical practices and the instruments of his day.