Johann Rosenmüller: Geistliche Konzerte

Featuring

Jochen M. Arnold
Capella Principale
Gli Scarlattisti
Johann Rosenmüller

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Composer Biography

Johann Rosenmüller, the composer, was accused of abusing choirboys in 1655 and escaped from prison, eventually making his way to Venice.

Critical Reception

Musicologist Peter Wollny suggests that Johann Rosenmüller's 'Kern-Sprüche' were widely known and possibly more stylistically influential than Heinrich Schütz's 'Kleine Geistliche Konzerte' between 1650 and 1700.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Johann Rosenmüller's 1648 foreword to his 'Kern-Sprüche' references Johannes Kepler's idea of musical proportions in the cosmos and Boethius's concept of 'musica mundana' (music of the spheres) and 'musica humana' (music within humans).

Composer Biography

In Venice, Johann Rosenmüller worked as Kapellmeister at the Ospedale della Pietà, an institution later associated with Vivaldi.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Johann Rosenmüller believed music could 'soothe savage dispositions,' 'dispel bodily diseases,' and offer spiritual benefit to a 'believing soul.'

Composition History

The 'Kern-Sprüche' (Core Aphorisms) by Johann Rosenmüller are German-language biblical settings composed at the end of the Thirty Years' War.

Interpretation

The ensemble Gli Scarlattisti uses a variable instrumentation for vocal parts, performing 4-5-part choir pieces chorally and pieces with one, two, or three vocal parts soloistically to emphasize interplay with instruments.