Zur Einschätzung, zur Traditionsbindung und zur Konzeption des Becker-Psalters von Heinrich Schütz

Abstract

Until recently, Schütz scholars had predominantly examined the autobiographical dedicatory prefaces of the Becker Psalter, catalogued it within the hymnological repertoire, and assigned it to the specific branch of rhymed psalter settings and cantional settings. But only rarely and in narrowly circumscribed studies was the work examined for itself. It was considered as a minor work closely bound to traditional functional purposes. Moreover, the strophic principle was regarded as a hindrance to Schütz's typically personal treatment of the text. However, when one compares the two versions of the work (1628 and 1661) with its predecessors, the originality of Schütz's conception clearly emerges. It is characterized by a synthesis of tradition and modernity as well as a striving toward the typification and individualization of the various pieces.