5 CD + CD-ROM (Bonus CD-Rom contains sung texts, booklet essay and performer biographies.)

For Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672) the year 1636 was his annus horribilis – The Elector’s chapel in Dresden had been ruined in the Thirty Years War, and there was a shortage of musicians and singers – the city was in ruins. On top of all this, his old patron the Prince of Gera-Ruess had died. This cultured nobleman had been a long time supporter of the composer, and admired his music. The prince had planned his funeral service in minute detail, and thus Schutz’s Musikalisches Exequien op.7 came into being.

All the music in this 5CD set dates from this troubled period in the composer’s life. The second book of op.9 from 1639 shows some residue of happier times spent in Venice in 1609, and the music is skilfully written by Schutz for choirs with limited resources – the war had decimated towns and villages across Germany. Op.11 was dedicated to the authorities of the famous Thomaskirche where Schutz’s old friend Johann Hermann Schein had been cantor, and where, many years later, Johann Sebastian Bach would make his name.