-
Among the three great “S’s” of (Central) German early Baroque (Schütz, Scheidt, and Schein), Johann Hermann Schein deserves mention here. He was, among other roles, Thomaskantor in Leipzig until his relatively early death, a position later held by Johann Sebastian Bach. As with some other old composers, I am ambivalent regarding suitability for (smaller) children: the incredibly clear archaic harmonies with their equally striking dissonances (“cross-relations”) seem quite accessible in the extremely clean recordings I’ve selected, yet, compared to today’s predominant music, they also appear somewhat foreign. Therefore, I recommend regular but also measured exposure, particularly in a calm context, for the work selected here.
-
I have chosen Gli Angeli Genève, Schein: Israelis Brünnlein, on YouTube at this address, with a total duration of 1:24:29, uploaded in 2011 with over 100,000 current views. The performers are absolute top-notch musicians who clearly had a good day - if one engages with the music, the sequence of sounds can sometimes send shivers down one’s spine. Under the direction of bassist MacLeod, sopranos Blazikova and Lewandowska, tenors Getchell and Kobow, as well as Guerrier on the positive organ, Hanana on the cello, and Pessi on the harp, perform in a concert (both audio and visual) recorded live on 17.10.2011 in the Geertekerk in Utrecht.
-
This consists of 20 of the 26 sacred madrigals from this collection, set to frequently composed biblical texts. The individual tracks are indicated in the comment section with their starting times: 0:00 Herr, ich bin dein Knecht, 3:30 Freue dich des Weibes deiner Jugend, 7:45 Die mit Tränen säen, 11:20 Ich lasse dich nicht, 14:20 Dennoch bleibe ich stets an dir, 17:40 Wende dich, Herr, und sei mir gnädig, 22:05 Zion spricht: Der Herr hat mich verlassen, 26:50 Ich bin jung gewesen, 30:45 Da Jakob vollendet hatte, 36:00 Lieblich und schöne sein ist nichts, 39:35 Der Herr denket an uns, 44:00 Ist nicht Ephraïm mein teurer Sohn, 48:06 Siehe an die Werk Gottes, 51:45 Unser Leben währet siebzig Jahr, 55:45 Herr, laß meine Klage für dich kommen, 59:10 Siehe, nach Trost war mir