(from 1630) of melodious church music, including noted settings of religious poems (especially by Rist), besides dances and other instrumental pieces; and Johann Dilliger (d. 1647), from 1619 cantor at Wittenberg and from 1625 at Coburg, with abundant works in many forms (from 1620). Later writers will be grouped under Schütz.
96. Schütz and the Oratorio Style.—While the new impetus in German music in the 17th century was certainly not due to the genius of any one man, yet Schütz stands out as a typical and dominating figure. Besides equaling or excelling his contemporaries at various points, he had something of that prevision as to musical progress that marked his greater successor Bach just a century later. He was familiar with Italy and plainly influenced by Venetian models, especially as to polychoric forms, richness of effect and a tendency to dramatic methods. Yet the tone of his work is essentially German as well in its seriousness and solidity. With him begins a style that is intensely religious without having a necessary connection with the usual church services. At intervals through his life he produced works in which may be seen the outlines of the German oratorio—a form that is not a sacred opera, but a religious concert-drama, suitable either for the church or elsewhere.
Besides the general use of recitative and other solo melodies, as in all
works of the dramatic species, Schütz emphasized the function of Narrators
in addition to the personages in action, also of interjected chorales (as it
were, the voice of the audience), and also of noble choruses, declamatory,
reflective or contrapuntal. Often, too, he made the instrumentation a
strong accessory.
The earlier works of this class had been all Passions or the like, based properly upon the narratives in the Gospels, but sometimes upon chapters like Isaiah liii.—the whole built out poetically in various ways.
Heinrich Schütz (d. 1672) was born in 1585 at Köstritz (Thuringia), was a choirboy at Cassel and a law-student at the University of Marburg. In 1609 he was sent to Venice by the musical Landgrave Moritz to study under Giovanni Gabrieli, returning in 1613 to be court-organist at Cassel. From 1617 (really from 1615) till his death 55 years later he was electoral choirmaster at Dresden, his long service being broken, especially during the Thirty Years' War, by several trips to Italy and by three extended visits to Copenhagen to act as court-conductor. His life is said to have been beset by many domestic bereavements, from which artistic production was his chosen recourse. His striking success with the Dresden Chapel and his gifts as a composer brought him fame and many accomplished pupils. (His official stipend, however, was never equal to that of Italians in the court employ.) His eminence has lately been recognized afresh, and his works are now accessible in a great
