The court of the Venetian Doges was of legendary magnificence. Princes who desired some of this splendor for their own courts sent their artists and...

The court of the Venetian Doges was of legendary magnificence. Princes who desired some of this splendor for their own courts sent their artists and musicians to study in La Serenissima. And so it was that Heinrich Schütz made his way to the Lagoon City in order to learn his trade under the famous Giovanni Gabrieli.

This new SACD by the Hymnus Choirboys of Stuttgart and Musica Fiata demonstrates how Schütz worked with opulent Italian impressions while serving as court chapel master in Dresden and employs the finest 2+2+2 technique to transport lavish sound and Venetian grandezza straight to you in your living room.

Schütz’s music is in very good hands with the Hymnus Choirboys of Stuttgart and its young soloists. This traditional ensemble led by Rainer Johannes Homburg, a proven expert in early music and historical performance practice, is complemented by Musica Fiata on historical instruments with such “parlando” articulation that the listener may have the impression that he or she understands every word, even in the purely instrumental presentation of the motet “Das ist je gewisslich war.