7/30/08 - no Gramophone review - jdb No others found. RO 090908

Classical Music

In the early 17th century, Italy was the wonderland of music; all new ideas and suggestions came from here, and whoever was a composer in the north - i.e. also in Germany - could not avoid these innovations, e.g. the "madrigalian manner". Johann Hermann Schein, too, enthusiastically embraced the southern stimuli as they reached the ears of German musicians in madrigals and sacred concertos from the beginning of the century, but he was never able to deny his musical upbringing and education rooted in German chapel and cantor tradition. This is especially true of his cycle of 26 sacred madrigals for 5 voices and b.c., the Israels Brünnlein - Fontana d'Israel, published in 1623, when Schein was already Leipzig's Thomaskantor.

This cycle is virtually a combination of the German-Dutch motets tradition and the New Italian art of expression. Schein commands the stylistic phenomena with aplomb, committed only to the affects and the expression. The collection is a step on the way to a more subjective, emotional practice of faith, as it then breaks through in Pietism.

Classical Music

The two competitors had a few things in common: Johann Hermann Schein was born in Dresden in 1586, one year after Heinrich Schütz. Similar to Schütz, the Dresden court conductor for many years, he was accepted into the Dresden court orchestra as a choirboy, where he received a solid musical education. And he became very successful as a composer. Around 1600, a transformation took place that originated in Italy: the invention of the basso continuo, the development of solo singing, a freer approach to counterpoint, the emergence of opera and much more. These innovations were received in the German-speaking world: through the sale of Italian printed music, the private acquisition and distribution of music, the employment of Italian musicians, trips to Italy. Schein made an important contribution to this development by combining these radically new Italian ideas with the German style.

In the anniversary year of the Leipzig Thomaskantorats Hans Christoph Rademann presented with the Dresden Chamber Choir also recorded all of the collection "Israelsbrünnlein" by Johann Hermann Schein, surely the greatest cantor of St. Thomas before Johann Sebastian Bach. The Israelsbrünnlein is probably the most important collection of motets in German music of the 17th century. The motets in the "Italian-Madrigalische Manir" were composed on Old Testament texts and these are what gave the collection its name. Originally created for ceremonial occasions such as weddings, funerals or graduations, they unite the secular madrigal style with the art of sacred polyphonic motet. - Carus Records

The Dresden Chamber Choir is known for the great intensity and clarity of its performances. It was established in 1985 by Hans-Christoph Rademann and students of the Dresden Carl Maria von Weber Musikhochschule. The repertoire of the choir ranges from music of the Renaissance to the contemporary, with interpretations of romantic choral works awarded special prizes in international competitions, and first performances of contemporary works encouraged by an award from the Ernst-von-Siemens Foundation. In addition to a cappella work the choir works together with the Dresden Baroque Orchestra and the Dresden Early Music Ensemble, and plays an important part in the promotion of early music in Saxony. The versatility of the ensemble is demonstrated in numerous broadcasts and recordings. - Naxos

The "villanella" was originally a plain, three-part strophic song in the manner of folkloristic tunes of Italy's rural population, intentionally simple in setting and usually with coarse texts. By the time Johann Hermann Schein had published his 50 villanellas of the "Musica boscareccia" in the 1620s, the genre had long become an art form. Schein's texts are full of strongly expressive imagery, charm and wit. An entire host of forest spirits, mythological figures and gods whirl and tumble here. Schein's successful fusing of conservative and novel styles ensured his work great success.