The nine parts of his Musae Sioniae (1605–10) and the 1611 published collections of liturgical music (masses, hymns, magnificats) follow the German Protestant chorale style.

But he also began working at the court of John George I, Elector of Saxony at Dresden as Kapellmeister von Haus aus (nonresident music director).

[4] His subsequent development of the form of the chorale concerto, particularly the polychoral variety, resulted directly from his familiarity with the music of such Venetians as Giovanni Gabrieli.

[12] Many of Praetorius' choral compositions were scored for several smaller choirs situated in several locations in the church, in the style of the Venetian polychoral music of Gabrieli.

[13] Praetorius composed the familiar harmonization of Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming) [14] and the motet "En natus est Emanuel", both published in 1609 in Musae Sioniae VI.

[16] Although his original theoretical contributions were relatively few compared to other 17th-century German writers, like Johannes Lippius, Christoph Bernhard or Joachim Burmeister, he compiled an encyclopedic record of contemporary musical practices.

An appendix to the second volume (Theatrum Instrumentorum seu Sciagraphia, 1620) consisted of 42 woodcuts depicting instruments of the early 17th century, all grouped in families and shown to scale.

[citation needed] As a lifelong committed Christian, he often regretted not taking holy orders but did write several theological tracts, which are now lost.

As a devout Lutheran, he contributed greatly to the development of the vernacular liturgy, but also favored Italian compositional methods, performance practice and figured-bass notation.