A commenter took me to task for my recent review of Jan Dismas Zelenka’s Missa Omnium Sanctorum. “The point of a mass setting is not to be “fun” and Zelenka would probably abhor that characterization of this work… Anyway, it was his friend [Giovanni Alberto] Ristori who was responsible for the “fun” masses in Dresden.” […]
David Erler
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Johann Friedrich Fasch Sacred Works on par with Bach’s
This release features a thoughtful program of music by Johann Friedrich Fasch. Two major choral works are separated by an instrumental suite. The Mass in G major is fascinating. Fasch breaks the text down almost to its component phrases. He then seems to treat each phrase differently, moving seamlessly from choral contrapuntal passages to vocal […]
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Heinrich Schütz Madrigale & Hochzeitsmusiken Bring Element of Fun
Carus continues their traversal of Heinrich Schutz’s music with a collection of secular compositions. Schutz was primarily known for his sacred compositions, which influenced generations of Protestant composers (especially in Germany). This release features secular madrigals and wedding music that show a different aspect of Schutz. Schutz studied in Venice as a young man. The works in […]
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Heinrich Schütz Symphoniae Sacrae II Beautifully Performed
This release features the second of three volumes of Schütz’s Symphoniae Sacrae. Schütz published his first volume in Venice in 1629. Volume II was completed 18 years later in Dresden, where Schütz was a major musical figure. Like the first volume, these works show some influence of Monteverdi and Gabrieli. But that influence seems much […]
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Heinrich Schütz Symphoniae Sacrae I – Models of Clarity
Heinrich Schütz published three volumes of his Symphoniae Sacrae. Hans-Christoph Rademann and Carus continue their traversal of Schütz’s catalog with Symphoniae Sacre I. This 1629 collection of works reflects Schütz’s time in Venice. While there, he studied with Giovanni Gabrielli and Claudio Monteverdi. The influences of both are apparent in these settings of the Songs […]