Hyperion Records

The work, which is scored for one voice and five-part instrumental ensemble, stands in the tradition of solo Psalm arrangements which had been established by Schelle’s teacher Heinrich Schütz and cultivated in Leipzig amongst others by Rosenmüller and Johann Theile. This work appears to be a very early composition of Schelle’s, also borne out by the many sections of the piece and the entry of—which later are far less drastic—‘madrigalistic’ text interpretations, for example at the word ‘Finsternis’ (‘darkness’), ‘barmherzig’ (‘merciful’) and ‘den Armen’ (‘the poor’).

from notes by Peter Wollny © 2001
English: Viola Scheffel