Heinrich Schütz: St John Passion, Psalm 116

Heinrich Schütz performed his St John Passion at the Dresden court on Good Friday 1666. The choir of the Hochschule für evangelische Kirchenmusik Bayreuth under the direction of Karl Rathgeber arrestingly present this plain yet dramatic setting of the Passion narrative. Accompanied by the Concertino Lüneburg, the ensemble has also recorded Schütz’s setting of Psalm 116. The five-voice composition was written as a commissioned piece, and forms part of the collection Angst der Hellen und Friede der Seelen. Burckhard Großmann had commissioned settings of Psalm 116 from sixteen composers, after his miraculous rescue in 1616.

In between the two vocal works by Heinrich Schütz, listeners will hear the chorale concerto O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid. Siegfried Reda presented his work at the Heidenheimer Arbeitstage für neue Kirchenmusik for the first time in 1953. The piece is performed on this recording by Thomas Rothert at the new Goll-Organ at the Bayreuth Hochschule.

Concertino Lüneburg
Bernhard Schneider
Thomas Rothert
Chor der Hochschule für evangelische Kirchenmusik Bayreuth
Karl Rathgeber