Schütz: Psalm 130: Aus der Tiefe ruf ich, Herr, zu dir, SWV 25

This is the final release in the Dresdner Kreuzchor’s series of music for the church year. The music for the end of the church year is inevitably more contemplative as it includes remembrance services and provides a thoughtful pause before the joy of Advent. Included are works by Schütz, Spohr, Mendelssohn and Bach.

The Weser-Renaissance of Bremen continue with their Schütz series on CPO with a sacred masterpiece; Musical Exequies. Throughout the series they have proved that Schütz’s music is some of the most exciting of the 17th Century.

Musical Exequies is one of Schütz‘s more solemn works, composed for the performance at the funeral of Prince Heinrich Posthumus von Reuss. In addition to the Exequies, the disc includes splendid settings of psalms.

The massed voices of the 140-strong National Youth Choir revel in the magnificently soaring lines of Schütz’s sacred music, complemented by John Kitchen’s contributions on the powerful Rieger organ of St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh. Revered by his contemporaries as the ‘Orpheus of our time’, Schütz would never have heard his music performed by forces such as these and on such a scale – surely he would have been a strong advocate of this astounding aural experience. Kitchen’s solo contributions contextualise the choral music with organ works by Samuel Scheidt and other contemporaries of Schütz.

Last year the Dresden Kreuzchor completed a recording project of works for the great festivals and seasons of the church year. This release gives the opportunity to own the entire programme as a boxed set. Every lover of choral music will appreciate this beautifully produced set which includes a 100 page brochure with all the choral texts.