Death and Devotion Cantatas by Tunder, Weckmann, Buxtehude, and Ritter It is a remarkable fact that the most expressive and original vocal church music composed in Northern Germany during the latter half of the seventeenth century was the work not of cantors, but of organists. Some of this is due to the exceptional status which had been achieved by organists in cities like Hamburg and Lbeck in the course of the century; they had become both virtuosi par excellence, and at the same time learned composers.

Mit dieser CD gelangen Reinhard Goebel und seinem Ensemble Musica Antiqua Köln 1986 eine der besten Aufnahmen Alter Musik überhaupt: Eine herausragende Mischung aus höchster musikalischer Intensität und Perfektion mit einem bis dahin quasi unbekannten Repertoire und einer Emotionalität, die fast physisch greifbar zu sein scheint.

Matthias Weckmann is doubtless the most fascinating Hamburg composer of the mid-17th century. A disciple of Schütz, nurtured on Italian music and, in particular, that of Claudio Monteverdi, he shone in all genres, achieving an impressive blending of these two worlds. His concerts spirituels are characterised by the important role they give to the instruments, veritable accomplices of the singers. His sonatas espouse the Venetian models with their original instrumentation uniting violin, cornett, trombone and bassoon. His organ music constitutes the veritable transition between the generations of Sweelinck and Buxtehude. And in his harpsichord pieces, he also tries his hand at the French suite style. Over the years, Ricercar has recorded his complete works, and the year of the 400th anniversary of his birth imposed itself for bringing together the first complete release of these recordings.

The music of the 17th century is deeply influenced by fearless innovation and bubbling creativity, characterized by experimentation with form that only with the subsequent generation of composers develops into fixed conventions and a higher degree of conformity. Here, a glimpse of the richness represented by the music from the Baltic region in the latter half of the 17th century is presented by bass-baritone Jakob Bloch Jespersen and Concerto Copenhagen under the direction of Lars Ulrik Mortensen.