Schütz: 12 geistliche Gesänge, Op. 13

Featuring

Hans-Christoph Rademann
Irene Klein
Sebastian Knebel
Dresdner Kammerchor
Heinrich Schütz

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Schütz, the composer, believed that the study and thorough knowledge of counterpoint should be the foundation of all new music, otherwise a work would be worthless.

Performer Biography

Hans-Christoph Rademann, the conductor, founded the Dresdner Kammerchor in 1985 and remains its artistic director, also serving as principal conductor of the RIAS Kammerchor since 2007.

Composition History

Heinrich Schütz, the composer, wrote the Zwölf geistliche Gesänge (Twelve Sacred Songs) in his 'spare time' as smaller works to directly influence the culture of his era.

Compositional Technique

Schütz's compositional style includes 'geographical representation of sound,' where musical lines ascend for texts like 'ascended to heaven' and darken for images like 'to kneel down' or 'grave'.

Composition History

The Zwölf geistliche Gesänge were compiled and published in 1657 by Christoph Kittel, a pupil of Schütz, for the instruction of choirboys and for use in churches and schools.

Historical Context

In the 1650s, the elderly Schütz observed a generational conflict with young Italian musicians at the Dresden court, who he felt neglected traditional counterpoint in favor of a 'poor foundation' in their new style.