Heinrich Schütz' "Musikalische Exequien": Überlegungen zur Werkgeschichte und zur textlich-musikalischen Konzeption

Abstract

In all likelihood, Schütz wrote the Musicalische Exequien—the funeral music for Prince Heinrich Posthumus Reuß—between December 1635 and the beginning of February 1636. The sources lend little weight to speculation concerning plans and first sketches of possibly earlier date; neither do they support the hypothesis that Schütz helped assemble and arrange the text. According to the preface, the first section of the work has the 'form of a German Mass'. This description was not owing to the nature of the commission; rather, it was the result partly of musical considerations, but also (this applies to the Gloria) reflects a subsequent interpretation made by the composer with the view of increasing the performance possibilities of his work while still satisfying the stipulations of the commission.