Heinrich Schütz was one of Germany's most important composers
of the 17th century. Standing at the crossroads of Renaissance and Baroque
music, he profited from a four-year stay in Venice, where he studied
with Giovanni Gabrielli, to learn "nuove musiche". This new form
of music was to break with the long tradition of music designed solely
to reflect the divine order of things and praise God, and to be more
appealing to listeners, through more varied melodies and accompaniments.
The difficult conditions of the Thirty Years' War led Schütz to
develop a more serious strain in his music. The Seven Words of Jesus
Christ on the Cross, dating from 1645, is an expression of his grief.
This is a stark, yet melodic work, which stands at the crossroads between
the older polyphonic style and the newer instrumental oratorio, where
Italianate elements are integrated, such as the recitative, and the
lush harmonies of some of the vocal sections.
This medium-sized work, at just over 17 minutes, is the centrepiece
of this disc, which also features a selection of other vocal works by
Schütz in the same vein. Its tone is one of sorrow and grief. It
features a rich accompaniment of viols and brass, together with organ,
which give it an intensely sacred sound. The various sections are short,
unlike many sacred works with individual movements consisting of arias
or chorals. The singers are all clearly committed to this piece; their
voices are all fine, although the use of vibrato by some of them is
questionable, as is the use of a female evangelist. Unlike Schütz's
later passions, this work is very melodic, and features a wide variety
of brief arias, polyphonic sections and instrumental parts. This is
a beautiful, very dramatic work.
The other works on this disc are all much shorter, but are very similar.
There is an assortment of sacred vocal works for ensembles of varying
sizes. They cover a vast period of Schütz's career, from 1616 to
1648, and allow listeners to examine the differences in his compositional
style over this time. From works with double choir (An den Wassern zu
Babel) to richly orchestrated works (Wo Gott er Herr nicht bei uns halt,
with viols, theorbo and trombones), to works for solo voice with a lush
accompaniment (Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott, with countertenor Pascal
Bertin singing over a group of viols, organ and vilone).
This wide variety of music makes this recording extremely interesting.
While in some ways it is all very homogeneous, there are small differences
in style that lead to many discoveries. One can regret, however, the
overly succinct liner notes that only talk about the 'title' work, and
do not mention any of the others.
A beautiful recording of a variety of Schütz's sacred vocal works.
All the musicians and singers are excellent, the recording is perfect,
and the music is very satisfying.
Kirk McElhearn
Akademia, Françoise
Lasserre
