On the occasion of the 350th anniversary of Heinrich Schütz’ death, Harmonia Stellarum Houston presents one of his most popular masterworks, the Musicalische Exequien.
Heinrich Schütz was arguably the most important German composer before Bach and leading figure in the compositional development of the Early Baroque. Henry II, Count of Reuss-Gera, carefully compiled a selection of biblical extracts which he commissioned Schütz to set to music for his own funeral. The skill and refinement with which Schütz juxtaposes passages in the old (“contrapuntal”) and new (“operatic”) style and the emotional precision of his response to the text results in a profound and moving masterwork that appropriately constitutes the first German Requiem in music history.
In the performance Schütz’ masterwork engages in a fascinating dialogue with Philippe de Monte’s 5-part Requiem, probably composed around 1580. De Monte was one of the most prolific (he published over 1100 madrigals in 34 books) and, as court capellmeister of emperors Maximilian II. and Rudolf II., one of the highest ranking composers at the end of the Renaissance. For his Requiem (composing some 50 years before Schütz) de Monte chooses a completely different musical approach. Deeply rooted in centuries old Gregorian chant motives, the music avoids all theatricality, but hints at eternity with the unspeakable beauty of vocal polyphony.
The performance is dedicated to the memory of the victims of 9/11.
Harmonia Stellarum Houston
Mario Aschauer