Caspar Othmayr [Othmayer, Otmaier, Othmarus] (12/03/1515 - 04/02/1553), a German composer, born in Amberg, Germany, died in Nürnberg, Germany. Caspar Othmayr was a student at Heidelberg University from 1533 and pupil of Lemlin there, he was a schoolmaster at Heilsbronn, near Ansbach, from 1545 and briefly held ecclesiastical posts in Ansbach 1547-8 before going to Nürnberg. With Ludwig Senfl and Hofhaimer, Caspar Othmayr raised the German polyphonic song to a new level of artistic achievement and sophistication; he was the foremost German composer of the generation after L. Senfl, and a Lutheran. He wrote about 230 pieces, all but two of them vocal, in most sacred and secular genres of his time, except the Mass. Most of his works are based on pre-existing melodies. Many of his songs were included in the anthologies of his fellow-student Forster, and his style was fresher and less conservative than that of some of his contemporaries.