Delightful performances from David de Winter and The Brook Street Band in 'Schütz: A German in Venice'

Tenor David de Winter and The Brook Street Band released their album, Schütz: A German in Venice in April, and it has received well-deserved acclaim for its imaginative programme but also for their stylish performances. German composer Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) studied with Giovanni Gabrieli in Venice in his twenties, and then returned to Venice for some time in the late 1620s. So de Winter has put together a programme here of some of Schütz’s sacred solo chamber works, alongside works by Venetian composers of the day, highlighting the Italian influences on Schütz’s work, at the cusp of the late Renaissance and into the high Baroque. Schütz’s works here all date from after his return to Germany, but it is clear that his time with Gabrieli, and presumably alongside these eminent Italian composers in Venice (there are suggestions that he met Monteverdi, although there is little actual evidence to confirm this) had a profound influence on his music. So there is music by Monterverdi here, as well as Cavalli, Grandi, Rossi and Sances. 

 

The disc opens with Schütz’s Lobet den Herrn, SWV 350, from his Symphoniae sacrae II, Op. 10, and it sets the scene well, with de Winter’s bright, clear tone delivering Schütz’s bouncing, straightforwardly communicative style with elegance, and The Brook Street Band matching this with energy and charm. Monteverdi follows, with Confitebor tibi Domine, SV 193 from his Messa a quattro voci et salmi concertati. In contrast to the sprightly opener, this begins with solemn strings, before the recorders then join for a livelier tempo. De Winter’s flowing lines, with frequent changes in tempo and mood are again complimented by graceful playing from the band. Of the seven other Schütz works here, there is great variety, from the mysterious, chromatic O süßer, O freundlicher, SWV 285, and the dancing Exultavit cor meum, SWV 258 to the swinging triple time Ich werde nicht sterben, SWV 346 and the more operatically virtuosic Cantabo Domino in vita mea, SWV 260, with its lengthy Alleluia. Throughout all, de Winter demonstrates his range, with complex decoration and virtuosic flourishes, as well as highly expressive and tender singing. The rising Amen at the end of the Monteverdi is simply beautiful, and leads so well into the mysterious opening of Schütz’s O Süßer, O freundlicher.

 

The Brook Street Band give us two playful trio sonatas from Salamone Rossi (1570-1630), the Sontata sopra l’aria di Ruggiero, with its dancing, intertwining violins playing tag, and the Sonata ottava sopra l’aria è tanto tempo hormai, with more chattering, shimmering violins and stately bass from cello and organ. Giovanni Felice Sances’ (1600-1679) sombre Stabat Mater, the longest piece on the disc, sits at the centre, with its darkly lugubrious tone and falling bass line, and highly expressive text-setting. De Winter relishes the tremulous ‘tremebat’, as well as a beautifully smooth melisma on the final syllable of ‘complaceam’. This is a real gem, and the pared back accompaniment gently supports de Winter’s expressive range, right to the highly decorative Amen to finish. Alessandro Grandi’s (1586-1630) Lauda Sion Salvatorem opens with mournful tenor recorders, contrasting de Winter’s bright, forwardly projected text, and his Decantabat populus Israel is full of virtuosic display and dancing Alleluias. And Francesco Cavalli’s (1602-1676) O quam suavis es is beautifully intimate, with de Winter again giving expressive, lyrical lines against the delicate lute, before the cello and organ join, and de Winter’s prayerful leap up on filium at the very end is effortless.

 

Schütz’s Ich danke dir Herr, SWV 347 ends the disc, with its triple time, lilting dance and increasing virtuosity from the full ensemble bringing things to a suitably celebratory finish. Aside from the fascinating insights into this repertoire (with excellent notes from de Winter), this is a beautifully constructed and varied programme, with delightful performances throughout. 

Various. 2024. Schütz: A German in Venice. David de Winter, The Brook Street Band. Compact Disc. First Hand Records FHR145.