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Review by beardawgs February 9, 2004 (6 of 6 found this review helpful)
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Performance:  Sonics: |
Now, this is a real treasure from Brilliant – Schutz is probably the most underrated protestant pre-Bach composer, and to have some of his music on SACD is a real treat. The recording and the performance are exemplary. And for the price of ‘two pints of lager and a packet of crisps’ (sorry to all non-British readers, the reference is very local).
After a disappointment with their Mozart disk, this one comes as a pleasant surprise – hard to find repertoire, well executed and recorded. Isn’t that the way budget labels should follow when they can’t compete with the ‘core’ stuff? This recording is also from 2003 (Mozart is from 2001), and in the meantime they figured out what DSD recording can do. Small vocal and instrumental ensemble benefits here from a warm and not to big acoustics, cleverly used space (in MC) and immaculate focus. Every singer and instrument has its clearly defined space, very important in this highly ornamented and dense polyphonic music. Then, when Schutz expands his orchestral forces for the second collection, couple of violins and a chamber organ fills in the space much wider than the size of my room.
The music itself is a real treasure. Schutz is under the strong influence from the musical epicentre of the day – renaissance Italy, think of the best Monteverdi in German. Cappella Augustana, Italian ensemble specialised in pre-Bach Lutheran composers are again new to me, but after this recording I’ll be looking for more from them closely. This music requires highly specialised performers and they know what they doing. My only minor reservation is using Italian pronunciation for Latin text in the first book of Simphoiae Sacrae. For all those with even a remote interest in early music, this disc is a must.
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