Orpheus oder Assaph? Bemerkungen zum biographischen Informationswert und zur ästhetischen Interpretationskraft der Epicedien auf Heinrich Schütz und dessen Familienmitglieder

Abstract

The 46 poems on the death of Heinrich Schützs daughter Euphrosyne (1655) and the twelve on his own (1672), all published in connection whit the respective funeral sermons, are examined here. The peronal relationships of the poets to the composer are also investigated. Replying to the following questions is the main objective: Are the authors otherwise known as poets to reseachers of literary history? Did they or could they therefore have worked together whit Schütz as hymn writers or librettists, and furthermore, did they sketch a portrait of the musician Schütz and of his ethical, aesthetical, and national status in their poems, including the ones concerning his daughter? To this end, poems which allegorize Schütz as a modern Orpheus or Assap (and hence as a psalm cantor) deserve special consideration. (Vorlage)