Secular Italian-texted music from a German Lutheran composer better
known for his German-texted sacred music is not as much a contradiction as
might first appear. Like many musicians before and after him, the
24-year-old Heinrich Schütz spent time learning his trade in Italy; in
the case of some of his sacred music it’s difficult to be sure exactly
what he composed and what he transcribed from Giovanni Gabrieli and Claudio
Monteverdi. He published this collection of madrigals as his Op.1 in Venice
in 1611. Though described as the first book, there seem to have been no
successors, so this makes an attractive pendant to his sacred music.
There already were two recordings of Book I of these madrigals:
- Carus 83.237: Dresden Kammerchor/Hans-Christoph Rademann -
review
- Harmonia Mundi HMG501686: Cantus Cölln/Konrad Junghänel,
a recent reissue at mid-price of a recording first released in 2000.
You can compare these with the new recording from the Naxos Music
Library. The Dresden Kammerchor sing well but, as Johan van Veen points out,
the employment of a choir in this music is quirky to say the least. Cantus
Cölln give a much leaner-textured and more enjoyable performance.
You’ll also find two recordings there which are not available on CD in
the UK: Hannover Orlando di Lasso Ensemble (Thorofon CTH2387) and Capella
Lipsiensis, Berlin Classics 0021022); all five of these recordings,
including the new CPO, are available for download from classicsonline.com in
mp3 but CPO downloads from that source tend to come with only a truncated
version of the booklet, devoid of texts. Worse, though there are lossless
downloads of the CPO and Carus recordings at an attractive price from
eclassical.com, the all-important booklet of texts is not part of the deal,
even in truncated form.
The themes of these madrigals will be familiar to anyone who knows
the Italian models, Monteverdi
et al - the coming of Spring, the
sweetness of love and the bitterness of loving in vain. Lost love is always
more bitter than never to have loved at all and the outcome often presages
the death of the lover. Schütz’s main source is Guarini’s
pastoral collection
Il Pastor fido - nothing, surprisingly, from
Petrarch - but he may have composed the text of No.19 himself: it’s
addressed not to a beloved but to his patron, Landgraf Moritz, Italianised
as
Gran Maurizio.
Sette Voci are a small ensemble - actually there are nine singers on
this recording, so their maths, like that of The Sixteen, is a bit
approximate. They are very lightly accompanied by violone, chitarrone and
keyboard (harpsichord or organ). I enjoyed their performance of these works
as much as that of Cantus Cölln. You may be attracted by the price
advantage of the latter but I see that at least one online supplier is
offering the CPO CD for around the same price.
Schütz’s sacred music is one of the delights of its
period and while I can’t claim that these madrigals quite equal it,
they are well worth getting to know in these performances. The recording
matches the bright, fresh sound of the singing and the booklet of notes and
texts is informative, though printed in a small font.
Brian Wilson
Track listing
No. 1.
O Primavera, gioventu de l’anno, SWV1 [3:22]
No. 2.
O dolcezze amarissime d’amore, SWV2 [2:33]
No. 3.
Selve beate, se sospirando, SWV3 [2:40]
No. 4.
Alma afflitta, che fai, SWV4 [2:50]
No. 5.
Cosi morir debb’io, SWV5 [2:59]
No. 6.
D’orrida selce alpina, SWV6 [3:39]
No. 7.
Ride la primavera, SWV7 [3:19]
No. 8.
Fuggi, fuggi, o mio core, SWV8 [2:35]
No. 9.
Feritevi, ferite, SWV9 [3:12]
No. 10.
Fiamma ch’allacia, SWV10 [2:21]
No. 11.
Quella damma son io, SWV11 [2:12]
No. 12.
Mi saluta costei, SWV12 [2:56]
No. 13.
Io moro, SWV13 [2:57]
No. 14.
Sospir che del bel petto, SWV14 [3:00]
No. 15.
Dunque a Dio, SWV15 [3:21]
No. 16.
Tornate, o cari baci, SWV16 [2:16]
No. 17.
Di marmo siete voi, SWV17 [2:45]
No. 18.
Giunto e pur, Lidia, SWV18 [2:48]
No. 19.
Vasto mar, nel cui seno, SWV19 [3:49]
