Praetorius: Christmas Music

Featuring

David Hill
Westminster Cathedral Choir
The Parley of Instruments
Michael Praetorius
Pierre-Francisque Caroubel

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Instruments

The Renaissance violins used by The Parley of Instruments are lighter, played with short bows on plain gut strings, and have a reedy sound similar to Renaissance viols.

Historical Context

Unlike his contemporary Heinrich Schütz, Praetorius never traveled to Italy but learned the Baroque style secondhand from imported Italian music.

Interpretation

This recording attempts to reproduce a performance under Praetorius's direction, using an all-male choir and instruments of late 16th or early 17th-century design.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded in Westminster Cathedral in January 1986, with Antony Howell as the recording engineer.

Composer Biography

Michael Praetorius (born Michael Schultheiss) was the son of a pastor who had been a pupil of Martin Luther, and he devoted most of his life to furthering Lutheran church music.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Praetorius aimed to marry the Italian Baroque style with the Lutheran chorale, creating music that could be performed even by humble village choirs.

Compositional Technique

Praetorius's three-volume treatise, Syntagma Musicum (1619), was designed to provide musicians with comprehensive historical, theoretical, and practical information.