Heinrich Schütz - Musical Exequies

An ensemble of students from the Institute for Performance Practice at the Hochschule für Musik in Trossingen will perform the "Musikalischen Exequien" by Heinrich Schütz. For the third time in three weeks, the Aurelius Church in Hirsau invites you to a special concert on Saturday, November 22, at 7 PM. Once again, the Romanesque church space is expected to be a wonderful setting for the music that will resonate there, merging into a perfect spatial-sound experience. The "Musikalischen Exequien," composed by the early Baroque composer Heinrich Schütz, who lived and worked from 1585 to 1672, will feature one of the most impressive and moving works of Baroque funeral music. Created as funeral music for a Thuringian count and first performed on February 4, 1636, in Gera—right in the midst of the Thirty Years' War—the "Musikalischen Exequien" are regarded by Werner Breig as "undoubtedly one of the most artistically sovereign and profoundly meaningful creations" of the composer born in Weißenfels. Schütz combines biblical texts with verses from contemporary poetry in the three parts of the work, shaping them into solo and choral pieces accompanied by organ, as well as featuring demanding and richly colored instrumental passages. Thus, a music emerges that is filled with both farewell and mourning, as well as hope and confidence. Furthermore, since the following Sunday is the Sunday of the Dead, this work gains a special relevance and depth. The concert at the Aurelius Church is a project and contribution from the Institute for Performance Practice at the Hochschule für Musik in Trossingen, which has maintained close ties with the concert series Sankt Aurelius for many years. Students from the university and guests will perform under the direction of the young harpsichordist and singer Mika Stähle, who hails from Calw. Admission is free, and donations are welcome.