Symphoniae sacrae I

Symphoniae sacrae I (literally: Sacred Symphonies, Book One) is a collection of different pieces of vocal sacred music on Latin texts, composed by Heinrich Schütz, published in 1629. He set mostly psalms and excerpts from the Song of Solomon for one to three voices, with various instruments and continuo. Its twenty pieces were assigned 257 to 276 in the Schütz-Werke-Verzeichnis (SWV), the catalogue of his works. Two later volumes came, but with German texts: Symphoniae sacrae II in 1647 and Symphoniae sacrae III in 1650.

Symphoniae sacrae I
Sacred vocal music by Heinrich Schütz
The composer of the collection in 1627
CatalogueOp. 6, SWV 257 to 276
TextPsalms and other biblical texts
LanguageLatin
DedicationJohann Georg II
Published1629 (1629)
Scoring

History

Schütz composed the first collection during his second study trip to Venice. During his first visit he studied the Venetian polychoral style with Giovanni Gabrieli. Returning in 1628 after Gabrieli's death, he studied with his successor at St Mark's Basilica, Claudio Monteverdi.[1][2] Schütz was in the service of the Protestant Elector of Saxony Johann Georg I, and dedicated the collection to the Elector's son, crown prince Johann Georg II, then 16 years old. The texts are mostly taken from the Bible, most of them setting excerpts from psalms and from the Song of Solomon. Schütz set the texts as concertos for various combinations of one to three voices, instruments (both strings and winds) and basso continuo.[1]

Schütz published the collection in 1629 in Venice as his Symphoniae sacrae. Opus Sextum. Opus Ecclesiasticum Secundum., his sixth work, and his second sacred work.[1] In his Latin foreword, he mentions Gabrieli, but not Monteverdi.[1] The composer has been described as "universal" (katholikos), and after his Cantiones sacrae published a second work in Latin. The musicologist Matteo Messori notes:

Schütz employed the international language that united European Christendom (as well as often being the language of communication between Lutherans of different nationalities) and hence potentially addressed Christians of every faith.[3]

Schütz later composed two more collections titled Symphoniae sacrae as Op. 10 and Op. 12. The general title was common at the time and was used by many composers, including his teacher including Giovanni Gabrieli who used it for his larger concertos.[1]

Collection

The collection contains twenty different individual concertos with numbers 257 to 276 in the SWV. The following table shows a sequence number, the SWV number, the first line of the Latin text replacing a title, a translation, an abbreviation of the text source and notes. The translations follow Emmanuel Music for SWV 257, 263, 264,[4] a study bible for the Song of Solomon, otherwise the King James version. Links to that bible version are provided in the next column. Note that psalm numbering and verse numbering within a psalm is different in different editions. The last column provides a link to the details about the piece from the Schütz Association, which contains the text, a translation to German, the volume in the Neue Schütz-Ausgabe, biblical source(s), and further links to the collection's history, original foreword, analysis, dedication, original cover, reception and sources.[4]

No. SWV Title English Source Details
1257Paratum cor meum DeusMy heart is ready, O God [5]Psalms 108:1–3257
2258Exultavit cor meum in DominoMy heart rejoiceth in the Lord1 Samuel 2:1–2258
3259In te Domine speraviIn thee, O Lord, have I hopedPsalms 30:1–2,1259
4260Cantabo domino in vita meaI will sing unto the Lord as long as I livePsalms 104:33260
5261Venite ad me omnes qui laboratisCome unto me, all ye that labourMatthew 11:28–30261
6262Jubilate Deo omnis terraMake a joyful noise unto the LordPsalms 100262
7263Anima mea liquefacta estMy soul melted when my beloved spoke [6]Song of Solomon 5:6; 2:14; 5:13; 5:8263
8264Adjuro vos filiae JerusalemI adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem [6]264
9265O quam tu pulchra es amica meaHow beautiful you are, my love [7]Song of Solomon 4:1-5,8265
10266Veni de Libano veni amica meaAdvance from Lebanon, my spouse [7]266
11267Benedicam Dominum in omni temporeI will bless the Lord at all timesPsalms 34:1–2267
12268Exquisivi Dominum et exaudivit meI sought the Lord, and he heard mePsalms 34:4–6268
13269Fili mi AbsalonMy son, Absalom2 Samuel 18:32269
14270Attendite popule meusGive ear, O my peoplePsalms 78:1–3270
15271Domine labia mea aperiesO Lord, open thou my lipsPsalms 51:15271
16272In lectulo per noctesOn my bed, throughout the night [7]Song of Solomon 3:1-2,4272
17273Invenerunt me costudes civitatisThe watchers who guard the city found me [7]273
18274Veni dilecte mi in hortum meumMay my beloved enter into his garden [7]Song of Solomon 5:1274
19275Buccinate in neomenia tubaBlow the trumpet when the moon is new [8]Psalms 81:3,1; 98:6275
20276Jubilate Deo in chordisLet us rejoice in God with strings and organ [8]Psalms 150:4; Psalms 98:4276

Music

Schütz followed Monteverdi's seconda pratica in setting the biblical texts not in the older polyphonic style, but in dramatic declamation close to the opera of the period. This approach to word setting mirrors the ideas of the Reformation in its focus on the words of scripture. The settings have been described as "eloquent, sensitive, and often sensuous".[9]

Recordings

The Symphoniae sacrae are part of the complete edition of the composer's works by Carus-Verlag, begun in 1992 in continuation of the Stuttgart Schütz Edition. The edition uses the Heinrich-Schütz-Archiv of the Hochschule für Musik Dresden.[10] They were recorded in 2003 with the Cappella Augustana including singers Anna Mikołajczyk, Marzena Lubaszka, Piotr Lykowski, Krzysztof Szmyt, Robert Pozarski, Harry van der Kamp, Bogdan Makal, Walter Testolin and Gian Paolo Dal Dosso, conducted by organist Matteo Messori.[3][2] They were recorded in 2016, as part of the complete recordings of works by Schütz, by the Dresdner Kammerchor and organist Ludger Rémy, conducted by Hans-Christoph Rademann, with soloists Dorothee Mields, Isabel Jantschek, David Erler, Georg Poplutz, Tobias Mäthger and Felix Schwandte.[9]

References
  1. "Entstehung Symphonia sacrae I SWV 257 – 276" (in German). Heinrich-Schütz-Haus. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  2. Hugill, Robert. "Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672) / Symphoniae Sacrae I / Symphoniae Sacrae II / Weihnachtshistorie". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  3. Messori, Matteo. "Schütz: musicus perfectissimus et universalis" (PDF). Brilliant Classics. pp. 13–14. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  4. Smith, Craig. "Motet & Liturgical Works Notes & Translations". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  5. "Heinrich Schütz: SWV 257, Symphoniae Sacrae I". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  6. "Heinrich Schütz: SWV 263–4, Symphoniae Sacrae I". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  7. "The Sacred Bible: The Song of Songs of Solomon". sacredbible.org. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  8. "Heinrich Schütz: SWV 275, Symphoniae Sacrae I". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  9. Rogers, Curtis. "Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672) / Symphonie Sacrae I (1629)". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  10. "Heinrich Schütz – Stuttgart Schütz Edition". Carus-Verlag. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
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