Johannes Eccard (1553–1611) was a distinguished German composer renowned for his intricate settings of Lutheran chorales. Born in Mühlhausen, Thuringia, Eccard's musical journey began under the tutelage of Joachim a Burck and continued at the Kapellschule in Weimar with David Köller. In 1571, he moved to Munich to study with the acclaimed Orlando di Lasso, a period that significantly influenced his musical style.

Eccard's career included a notable tenure with the Fugger family in Augsburg and a long service at the court of Prince Georg Friedrich of Preussen-Ansbach in Königsberg, where he became Kapellmeister in 1604. His final years were spent as Kapellmeister to the electors of Brandenburg in Berlin.

Eccard's compositions are celebrated for their polyphonic complexity and religious depth, often blending choral song with the polyphonic motet. His works, such as the Geistliche Lieder auf den Choral, are marked by their devotion to Lutheran theology and musical beauty. His setting of "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" was once considered a national hymn in Germany. Eccard's legacy is inseparable from the Protestant Reformation, with his music continuing to be admired for its artistry and spiritual resonance.