Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

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SCHUTZ SOHUTZ 339
twice in the form of a quartet. Next, the the musicians, he appears to have suff'ered so
work is opened and concluded with a chorus many annoyances in connection with it as caused
(5-part with basso continuo) expressive of the him to have almost a disgust for the further
feelings of Christians at the oontemplation of cultivation of music at Dresden, and induced
our Lord upon the Cross. After the opening, him to solicit over and over again in 1651-55
and again before the concluding chorus, there dismissal from the Elector's service. The new
occurs a short 5-part instrumental symphony, Italian element in the chapel was very diff'erent
which has been aptly described as an ideal from the old ; Schutz was getting involved in
raising and dropping of the curtain before and continual differences and squabbles with a new
after the action. The instruments to be used Italian colleague Bontempi. Italian art was
are not specified, but strings are probably more losing its earlier seriousness of purpose, turning
intended than anything else. The part of our its back upon its older traditions, and aiming
Lord differs from the other parts in having a simply at the amusement of princes and their
3 - part instrumental accompaniment. This courts, and thus acquiring a popularity dangerous
probably originated out of the custom in previous to higher ventures of art. 'The Elector, however,
' Passions ' (as followed in Soandello's Resurrection,'
'
refused to accept the resignation of his
for instance), of setting the words of our Capelbneister, and after 1655 affairs improved
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Lord in four vocal parts. Schiitz here improved somewhat, so far as Schutz was personally concerned,
upon the idea, first timidly suggested by himself
in his 'Eesurreotion,' of giving the words of a so that he continued quietly at his post
for the remaining sixteen years of his life.
single character to a single voice, for the sake In 1657 he published 'Zwolf geistliche
of dramatic consistency, and assigning the Gesange ' a 4 for small choirs, a work which we
accompanying parts to the instruments. The might call a German Communion and Evening
way in which this accompaniment is carried Service, consisting, as it does, mainly of settings
out deserves to be noticed. It is neither in of the chief portions of the Liturgy in order,
the old style nor in the new, but a curious viz. the Kyrie, Gloria, Nicene Creed, Words of
combination of both ; the lower part is identical I-nstitution (usually appointed to be sung in
with the basso continuo for sustaining the early Lutheran liturgies), a Communion Psalm,
harmony throughout : the other two parts are Post-Communion Thanksgiving, then a Magnificat
and Litany, etc. From 1657 to 1661 our
composer would seem to have been occupied
with the task enjoined on him by the new
Elector, that of composing additional melodies
for Becker's Psalter, already mentioned ; work
which apparently gave him more trouble than
it was worth, and hindered him from devoting
himself to other more congenial work. In the
written in the polyphonic style with the voice,
consisting of imitations either preceding or
following the vocal phrase. It is well known
how Bach in his Matthew-Passion ' ' developed
this idea of a special accompaniment to the
words of our Lord, surrounding Him as it were
with a halo. Naturally there are no arias in
the modern sense in Schiitz's work, all is in
the form of expressive recitative. A touching
simplicity and tenderness distinguish the whole
work. In 1648 appeared his 'Musicalia ad
Chorum Sacrum,' a work in quite a different
style from those last mentioned, and showing
a reaction in Schiitz's mind against the exclusive
claims of the modern Manier. ' ' It consists of
twenty-nine pieces to German words, for five,
six, and seven voices, in the old motet or strictly
polyphonic style, in which the bassus generalis
or continuus may be dispensed with (as the
title says, 'Wobei der Bassus Generalis auf
Gutachten und Begehren, nicht aber aus
Nothwendigkeit zugleich auch zu befinden ist ').
In the preface he expresses the opinion that no
one will become a capable musician who has
not first acquired skill in strict contrapuntal
work without the use of the basso continuo.
Personal reasons to some extent combined with
artistic reasons to produce the reaction in
favour of the older school of music as against
the new, to which we have referred. From
1647 onwards, in spite of the many personal
sacrifices he had made on behalf of the Elector's
capelle, as for instance by paying or increasing
out of his own salary the salaries of others of
preface to this Psalter, 1661, he says that 'to
confess the truth, he would rather have spent
the few remaining years of .his life in revising
and completing other works which he had
begun, requiring more skill and invention
( ' mehr sinnreichen Inventionen '). It is greatly
to be regretted that the next work with which
Schiitz occupied himself has been preserved to
us in so incomplete a form. It was a setting
of the story of the Birth of our Lord, and as a
Christmas oratorio would have been a fitting
companion-work to his earlier ' Easter ' oratorio
and his later ' Passions-Musik. ' Only the part
of the Evangelist, in recitative with bass
accompaniment, has been preserved to us ; but
the preface to this (1664) contains a specification
of ten so - called Concerte ' ' for various
voices and instruments which were to come in
at different points of the narrative. The
introduction, for instance, consisted of the
title (' Die Geburt, etc.') set for four vocal and
five instrumental parts ; the message of the
Angel was set for soprano solo with accompaniment
of two violettas and one violone ; the
Chorus of Angels for six voices with violins
and violas ; the words of the Shepherds for