The »three famous S« – Heinrich Schütz, Johann Hermann Schein and Samuel Scheidt – were considered »the best three composers in Germany during their lifetime«, according to the composer and writer Wolfgang Caspar Prinz. Born in the consecutive years of 1585, 1586 and 1587, the artists, who were also close friends, left their mark on 17th-century music history. The vocal ensemble Voces Suaves has developed a programme highlighting some of the composers’ most well-known works on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of Schütz’ death. Thematically, they revolve around the theme of longing and praise of the divine, and the music is oriented strongly towards the tonal idiom of the Italian madrigal, then considered modern and expressive. These »sacred madrigals« by Schütz and Schein are combined with Scheidt’s vocal and organ music, i.e. polyphonic sacred songs – illustrating the diversity of musical

The concert will be broadcast by Deutschlandfunk Kultur at a later date.

Image © Markus Räber