, Op. 7, SWV 279–281, is a sacred funeral music that

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque music, Baroque composer and organ (music), organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and one of the most important composers of ...

wrote in 1635 or 1636 for the funeral services of Count

Henry II, Count of Reuss-Gera Henry II of Reuss (younger line) (10 June 1572 – ), nicknamed ''the Posthumous'' because his father died two months before he was born, was Lord of Gera, Lord of Bad Lobenstein, Lobenstein and Lord of Kranichfeld, Oberkranichfeld. Life ...

, who had died on 3 December 1635. It is Schütz's most famous work of funeral music. The work was first performed on in the Johanniskirche in

Gera Gera () is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of ...

. It comprises three sections: Henry II had planned the service himself and chose the texts, some of which are scriptural and others of which are from 16th-century Lutheran writers, including

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

himself. He commissioned Schütz to compose the music on the occasion of his death. Part I, by far the longest part of the work, is scored for SSATTB (2 sopranos, alto, 2 tenors, bass) chorus alternating with small ensembles of soloists. Part II is scored for double choir SATB SATB, and Part III is written for SATTB choir and a trio of soloists. All movements are accompanied by

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...

. The work was known to

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

, as it is thought that he owned a copy of the score; his '' German Requiem'' is remarkably similar in content. The work was the first requiem in the German language.

Recordings

There have been many recordings, making the Exequien the most recorded work of 17th-century German vocal music, including: * Heinrich Schütz Choir, Munich, conducted by Karl Richter (

Archiv Produktion Archiv Produktion is a classical music record label of German origin. It originated in 1948 as a classical label for the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft (DGG), and in 1958 Archiv was established as a subsidiary of DGG, specialising in recordin ...

, 1955) *

Dresdner Kreuzchor The Dresdner Kreuzchor is the boys' choir of the Kreuzkirche in Dresden, Germany. It has a seven-century history and a world-wide reputation. Today, the choir has about 150 members between the ages of 9 and 19, from Dresden and the surroundin ...

, conducted by Rudolf Mauersberger (Berlin) * Westfälische Kantorei, conducted by Wilhelm Ehmann (Cantate) * Chiaroscuro , conducted by Hans-Martin Linde (EMI) *

Knabenchor Hannover The Knabenchor Hannover (Hannover Boys' Choir) is a Boys' choir, boys choir founded in 1950 by Heinz Hennig, who served as conductor until the end of 2001. Since 2002, the conductor has been Jörg Breiding. History and music The Knabenchor Hann ...

, conducted by Heinz Hennig (Ars Musici) * Madrigal Ensemble, conducted by Stoyan Kralev (Forlane) * The Schutz Academy, conducted by Howard Arman (Berlin) * Chapelle Royale, conducted by

Philippe Herreweghe Philippe Maria François Herreweghe, Knight Herreweghe (born 2 May 1947) is a Belgian conductor and choirmaster. Herreweghe founded La Chapelle Royale and Collegium Vocale Gent and is renowned as a conductor, with a repertoire ranging from ...

(

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is a record label that specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group, which is itself owned by Universal M ...

) *

Monteverdi Choir The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic conv ...

, conducted by

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, especially the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of 2000, performing Church cantata (Bach), Bach's church ...

, (

) * Alsfelder Vokalensemble, Himlische Cantorey, I Febiarmonici, conducted by

Wolfgang Helbich Wolfgang Helbich (8 April 1943 – 8 April 2013) was a German church musician, a choral conductor and academic. He was the founder of the Alsfelder Vokalensemble and served as their conductor for decades, a group that toured internationally and re ...

(

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

) * Weser Renaissance Bremen, conducted by

Manfred Cordes Manfred Cordes (born 1953) is a German conductor of early music, musicologist and teacher. He is professor at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen and was its rector from 2007 to 2012. Publications * ''Die lateinischen Motetten des Iacobus Reg ...

(cpo) * Motettenchor Stuttgart, conducted by

Günter Graulich Günter Graulich (born 2 July 1926)Klaus Hofmann: Carus-Verlag. In Ludwig Finscher (edit.): ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart''. Second edition, Sachteil, volume 2 (Bolero – Encyclopedie). Bärenreiter/Metzler, Kassel u. a. 1995, Online-Aus ...

(

Carus Marcus Aurelius Carus ( – July or August 283) was Roman emperor from 282 to 283. During his short reign, Carus fought the Germanic tribes and Sarmatians along the Danube frontier with success. He died while campaigning against the Sassanid ...

) * Cappella Augustana, conducted by Matteo Messori (

Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also s ...

) * La Chapelle Rhénane, conducted by

Benoît Haller Benoît Haller is a French Conducting, conductor and tenor, born in Strasbourg in 1972. Biography Benoît Haller studied choral and orchestral conducting with Hans Michael Beuerle at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt a ...

(

K617 K617 is a French classical music record label based in Metz and founded by Alain Pacquier, music author and creator of the Festival de Saintes at the Abbaye aux Dames in Charente-Maritime, and the Festival de Sarrebourg (July) at the Couvent d ...

) * Akadêmia, conducted by Françoise Lasserre with

La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (; "The Phoenix Theatre") is a historic opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th cen ...

, conducted by

Jean Tubéry Jean Tubéry (1964 born in Toulouse) is a French player of the cornett (''cornetto'') and conductor. He is noted for being, along with his own teacher Bruce Dickey and his colleague Jean-Pierre Canihac, one of the main cornett players to resurrect ...

( Pierre Verany/

Arion Arion (; ) was a kitharode in ancient Greece, a Dionysiac poet credited with inventing the dithyramb. The islanders of Lesbos claimed him as their native son, but Arion found a patron in Periander, tyrant of Corinth. Although notable for his mu ...

) *

Amarcord ''Amarcord'' () is a 1973 comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini, a semi-autobiographical tale about Titta, an adolescent boy growing up among an eccentric cast of characters in the village of Borgo San Giuliano (situated near the ancien ...

& Cappella Sagittariana Dresden, conducted by Norbert Schuster ( Raumklang) *

American Bach Soloists The American Bach Soloists (ABS) is an American baroque orchestra based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The orchestra was founded in Belvedere, California, in 1989. Performers share music from Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries during the ...

, conducted by Jeffrey Thomas (own label) * Vox Luminis, conducted by Lionel Meunier (Ricercar) – winner of

Gramophone Award The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. The British awards are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy ...

s 2012 * Dresdner Kammerchor, conducted by Hans-Christoph Rademann (Carus) *

La Petite Bande La Petite Bande is a Belgium-based ensemble specialising in music of the Baroque and Classical eras played on period instruments. They are particularly known for their recordings of works by Corelli, Rameau, Handel, Bach, Haydn, and Mozart. Hi ...

, conducted by

Sigiswald Kuijken Sigiswald Kuijken (; born 16 February 1944) is a Belgian violinist, violist, and conductor known for playing on period and original instruments. Biography Kuijken was born in Dilbeek, near Brussels. He was a member of the Alarius Ensemble o ...

( Accent) * Theatre of Early Music, Schola Cantorum, conducted by Daniel Taylor (

Analekta Analekta is Canada's largest independent classical music recording label. The label, which takes its name from the Greek word ''analekta'' ("a collection of the finest works"), was founded in 1988 by the Canadian music industry manager and entrep ...

) * Ensemble Sagittarius, conducted by Michel Laplénie (Editions Hortus) * BachPlus, conducted by Bart Naessens (

Etcetera ''Et cetera'' (, ), abbreviated to ''etc.'', ''et cet.'', ''&c.'' or ''&c'', is a Latin expression that is used in English to mean "and all the rest". "&" is a ligature of "et." Translated literally from Latin, can mean , while can mean ; th ...

) * Voces Suaves, conducted by Johannes Strobl ( Arcana) * Stuttgart Hymnus Boys Choir, conducted by Rainer Johannes Homburg &

Musica Fiata Musica Fiata, also Musica Fiata Köln, is a German instrumental ensemble, founded in Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, ...

, conducted by Roland Wilson ( MD&G) *

The Sixteen The Sixteen (previously known as the Symphony of Harmony and Invention) are a British choir and period instrument orchestra. Founded by Harry Christophers, they started as an unnamed group of sixteen friends in 1977, giving their first bille ...

& The Symphony of Harmony and Invention, conducted by

Harry Christophers Richard Henry Tudor "Harry" Christophers CBE FRSCM (born 26 December 1953) is an English conductor. Life and career Richard Henry Tudor Christophers was born in Goudhurst, Kent. He was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral under choirmaster Al ...

(CORO)

References

External links

* *
''Musikalische Exequien:'' text, analysis etc.
a
heinrich-schuetz-haus.de

with roles and Bible references * Compositions by Heinrich Schütz 1636 compositions Music dedicated to nobility or royalty {{composition-stub

Recordings

References

Further reading

External links