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John McKean, German sacred music, Catholic and Protestant, Early Music, Volume 50, Issue 2, May 2022, Pages 249–251, https://doi.org/10.1093/em/caac021
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Sacred music of the German Baroque is, in one way or another, inextricably linked to or shaped by the wide-ranging impacts of the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48)—that terrible conflict which pitted Catholics against Protestants and wreaked devastation throughout the German-speaking lands. While the distinct characteristics of liturgical practice and confessional tradition certainly exerted an influence on musical style, the recordings considered here reflect the fact that, for all their differences, Catholic and Protestant repertories also shared much in common.
The existing discography of German music from the early Baroque reflects the canonical pre-eminence of ‘the three S’s’: Schütz, Scheidt and Schein. It is the stated aim of our first recording, Andreas Hammerschmidt: Ach Jesus stirbt (Ricercar ric 418, issued 2020), to disrupt the repertorial hegemony of these established masters by highlighting the work of an equally captivating, if somewhat lesser-known composer from this period. Known as ‘The Orpheus of Zittau’, the compositional language of Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611/12–75) belongs to the same Lutheran polyphonic tradition that was innovated a generation earlier by the likes of Schütz and Schein, who were themselves instrumental in importing and adapting Italian choral forms and styles for use in a Protestant context. The present recording brings together a selection of sacred vocal works (variously described as Concerten, Madrigalen, Symphonien and Motetten) from Hammerschmidt’s extensive œuvre, which spans 14 published collections and numbers over 400 works in total. The pieces are ordered here such that their respective texts advance thematically from Good Friday to Ascension, thus providing the engaged listener with a narrative arc that binds together these otherwise unrelated works. The Belgian ensemble Vox Luminis, under the direction of Lionel Meunier, performs with their characteristic refinement and sumptuously blended choral sound that is so well suited to this repertory; in this regard, the album joins the group’s previous recordings of works by Schein and Schütz, the latter of which was awarded Gramophone’s Recording of the Year in 2012.
