Schütz: Opus Ultimum: Schwanengesang

Heinrich Schütz may have been the most important German composer before Bach, said Tim Ashley in the London Guardian. Opus Ultimum, as its name suggests, was his last work. He wrote it at the age of 87, and did not live to see it performed. Far from morbid, the 1672 setting of Psalms 119 and 100 gives 'œthe overwhelming impression of an old man preparing to meet his God in a mood of philosophical calm, yet still filled with a sense of wonder at creation, God's as well as his own.' Schütz explores 'œevery possibility of antiphonal double choirs plus instrumental accompaniment that goes from lute to trombone,' said David Patrick Stearns in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The two-hour-long, 176-verse Psalm 119, made up of 11 motets for double choir, dominates the disc, and is followed by the brief Psalm 100 and radiant Deutsches Magnificat. Early music wind quintet Concerto Palatino joins Collegium Vocale Gent on this definitive recording, said Bradley Bambarger in the Newark, N.J., Star-Ledger. Celebrated Belgian conductor Philippe Herreweghe coaxes an authentic and quietly haunting baroque-era sound from its 16 voices. 'œIn his mind's ear, the composer surely heard performances similar to those of Collegium Vocale'”meditative but rich, with the choral texture evoking dark wood, amber, and still air.'