HEINRICH SCHÜTZ

 

Symphoniae Sacrae III

 

Concerto Palatino, Cantus Cölln/ Konrad Junghänel

 

In late 1650 the sixty-five year old Schütz published the third and last part of his Symphoniae Sacrae, a hymn to peace in the aftermath of the Thirty Years War (1618-48). A polychoral ensemble on this scale had not been heard since the Psalms of David (1619), already recorded by Cantus Cölln for harmonia mundi (HMC90165-/53).

 

These 'sacred symphonies' laid the foundations for the next century of German Protestant church music. Founded in 1987 by Konrad Junghänel, Cantus Cölln is regarded as one of the finest vocal ensembles of its kind. It devotes itself essentially to Italian and German Renaissance and Baroque repertories and its rediscovery of neglected music has met with several international awards.

 

The members of the Cantus Cölln are all singers with successful careers as soloists, but everyone who has heard it has been struck by the extraordinary homogeneity of the ensemble which has not, however, sacrificed the specific vocal qualities of its individual members. Since 1996 Cantus Cölln has recorded exclusively for harmonia mundi France.

 

Harmonia Mundi 2cds HMC901850-51