On the Way: Schütz's "Exequien" in Spiš

EXPORT I | Music of the Protestant Diaspora around 1650

4:00 PM | A Word with Prof. Dr. Silke Leopold
Introduction to the concert "On the Way: Schütz's Exequien in Spiš"

In the 17th century, the Spiš region was a culturally rich transitional space: between the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary, and the pull of Italian madrigal art, connected through Lutheran networks, interregional trade routes, and the quiet work of copyists. In the Slovak town of Levoča, a tablature of parts of the "Musical Exequies" SWV 279-281 and the "Psalms of David" SWV 22-47 has been preserved. Johann Schimrack (d. 1657) thus appropriated the works of his Dresden colleague in this way - and subsequently wrote his own works in a related style. Alongside Schimrack, Samuel Marckfelner (1621-1674) also enters the European soundscape of Schütz's time.

The ensemble Le Nuove Musiche (Bratislava) and Capella dell'Halla (Bad Reichenhall) make Schimrack's tablature the starting point of an artistic exploration. Works by Spiš composers enter into dialogue with Heinrich Schütz's "Exequien" and make audible the traces of living practice that thought and acted in exchange.