Schütz: Musikalische Exequien / Johannes-Passion

Featuring

Wilhelm Ehmann
Johannes Hoeflin
Jakob Stämpfli
Rolf Bössow
Herta Flebbe
Gerd Spiering

Reinhard Ruge
Instrumentalensemble der Westfälischen Kantorei
Westfälische Kantorei
Heinrich Schütz

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Instruments

For this recording, a theorbo (bass lute) and a 16ft pitch violone were used, as Schütz himself mentioned these instruments as important for the continuo group in his works.

Composer Biography

Heinrich Schütz was in his 80th year when he composed the St. John Passion, combining traditional and modern elements in his 'Historia' works.

Composition History

The texts for the first part of "Musikalische Exequien" were Bible verses and hymn stanzas that Prince Heinrich Posthumus von Reuß had engraved on his coffin during his lifetime.

Compositional Technique

Schütz's "Musikalische Exequien" contains over a hundred musical 'images' where tone and sound patterns conform to the meaning of the words, such as the repetition of notes for 'naked' or rests for 'taken away'.

Interpretation

This recording of "Musikalische Exequien" uses 'Favoritsänger' (soloists) as the central element, with additional 'Capell-Sänger' (tutti-singers) and instrumental ensembles for choral passages, following Schütz's own performance instructions.

Composition History

Heinrich Schütz's "Musikalische Exequien" was commissioned by Heinrich Posthumus von Reuß, a prince who asked Schütz to compose music for his own funeral.