Schütz In (Heinrich Schütz, 1585-1672)

[Atriod]

Surprised that Schütz does not have a dedicated thread, one of my favorite early music composers.

C&P from a couple of years ago from another board when I had listened to the Carus mega box for him:

My take on the Carus Heinrich Schutz conducted by Hans-Christoph Rademann 28 CD box - Herreweghe's fabulous CDs have been my long time go to for all the works he recorded over several others I've heard. The main difference with these Rademann conducted recordings is Herreweghe goes for warmth but not the clearest delineation in counterpoint, though this isn't to say Rademann is lacking in warmth, they're quite heartfelt. The other thing that tends to favor Rademann is they are more "spiritual" in that the singers go for more dynamism and a heavenly reaching quality, Herreweghe sonorities are generally more blended and even. I would not want to be without either, the Carus sets are expensive, but I bought all my Herreweghe CDs cheap in used stores and I just did a Discogs check and most of these are under $10 if not more commonly under $5, an absolute steal.

Hearing the Rademann performance of Musikalische Exequien makes me appreciate it even more. This is up there with my all time favorite choral works like Missa Solemnis, B minor Mass, Mahler 8, Faure's Requiem, Ligeti's Requiem, Rachmaninoff's All Night Vigil, and Bruckner's F minor Mass.

The stunning recording quality from Carus also helps, on the ESL57 it really is a they are in the room experience.

Like most great boxes when I hear new repertoire I suspect this will have me spending more money on Schutz single CDs from smaller HIP labels. This is pretty much all I could ask for and solidifies this box among my all time favorite box sets.

The famous So fahr ich hin zu Jesu Christ

[DaveF]

Ah, well done for spotting another gap in the market - Schütz certainly deserves his own thread.

Agree with you on the whole about the Rademann Carus set - reference recordings, no doubt, although perhaps with a slight whiff of being laid down for posterity.  I find some others a bit less "careful" and more spontaneous, such as the Hilliard Ensemble's Schwanengesang.  The one real stinker in the set is their Italian Madrigals, which to my ears, sung ponderously and passionlessly by a largeish choir, is just awful, like a British choral society on an off night.

Thanks to Qobuz's chaotic pricing, I managed to pick them up fairly cheaply as downloads, which you still can.  Currently on Qobuz US you've got "Schütz Complete Recording" (actually Box 1, 11-CD equivalent) for $19.77, "Heinrich Schütz: Die Gesamteinspielung" (also Box 1, i.e. the same recording) for $90 and "Schütz: Die Gesamteinspielung, Box 2" (8 discs) also for $19.77.  No sign of Box 3 at the moment, but it's been there in the past.  They also have the individual discs for $12-15, i.e. nearly as much as the big boxes.

[71 dB]

While I certainly enjoy the music of Schütz, his early baroque feels just that, "early." I am also against the general sentiment that nothing happened in German baroque between Schütz and Bach. My Schütz collection is pretty modest consisting of these CDs:

Psalmen Davids - Oxford Camerata - Naxos 8.553044
The Christmas Story - Oxford Camerata - Naxos 8.553514
German Requiem - Alsfelder Vokalensemble - Naxos 8.555705
Musikalische Exequien - La Chapelle Royale - HMX 2981261
Madrigaux italiens - Cantus Cölln - HMC 901686
Symphoniae Sacrae I - Concerto Palatino - ACC 30078

I don't know the Rademann performances mentioned, but then again I listen to Schütz very rarely...

[Atriod]

Ah, well done for spotting another gap in the market - Schütz certainly deserves his own thread.

Agree with you on the whole about the Rademann Carus set - reference recordings, no doubt, although perhaps with a slight whiff of being laid down for posterity.  I find some others a bit less "careful" and more spontaneous, such as the Hilliard Ensemble's Schwanengesang.  The one real stinker in the set is their Italian Madrigals, which to my ears, sung ponderously and passionlessly by a largeish choir, is just awful, like a British choral society on an off night.

Thanks to Qobuz's chaotic pricing, I managed to pick them up fairly cheaply as downloads, which you still can.  Currently on Qobuz US you've got "Schütz Complete Recording" (actually Box 1, 11-CD equivalent) for $19.77, "Heinrich Schütz: Die Gesamteinspielung" (also Box 1, i.e. the same recording) for $90 and "Schütz: Die Gesamteinspielung, Box 2" (8 discs) also for $19.77.  No sign of Box 3 at the moment, but it's been there in the past.  They also have the individual discs for $12-15, i.e. nearly as much as the big boxes.

Regarding the bolded part I hear this on many sets where the musicians are recording it to get a complete compilation out. If I was hearing these Rademann performances blind and no knowledge of the box I never would have guessed he was under taking an integrale, the performances I have compared to several are usually just as good as the best. For instance I never would have thought I'd find performances I like even more than Herreweghe.

While I certainly enjoy the music of Schütz, his early baroque feels just that, "early." I am also against the general sentiment that nothing happened in German baroque between Schütz and Bach. My Schütz collection is pretty modest consisting of these CDs:

Psalmen Davids - Oxford Camerata - Naxos 8.553044
The Christmas Story - Oxford Camerata - Naxos 8.553514
German Requiem - Alsfelder Vokalensemble - Naxos 8.555705
Musikalische Exequien - La Chapelle Royale - HMX 2981261
Madrigaux italiens - Cantus Cölln - HMC 901686
Symphoniae Sacrae I - Concerto Palatino - ACC 30078

I don't know the Rademann performances mentioned, but then again I listen to Schütz very rarely...

One reason among many I'm drawn to Schutz is they are more vocal heavy without being ancient music (which I also like very much). JSB's Sacred Cantatas are my other in constant heavy rotation baroque music, and those feature instruments quite prominently.