pray for the government. From Luther's Verlieh uns, the second half - another Schütz gem. Wow.
Give our rulers and all lawgivers
peace and good government,
that under them
we might lead a quiet and peaceful life
in all blessedness and honor.
Amen.
7 comments:
sublime. It exudes peace.
Doesn't it? That peace and that restrained but brimming joy shines forth in all the Schütz I've heard.
Without Schutz, there would have been no J.S. Bach.
Da pacem domine, the latin chant from which Luther borrowed the Verleih. Here is a lovely progression through the translations to the arranged Lutheran chorale by Johann Hermann Schein, a contemporary of Schutz. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqAOAaMAquc The Anglicans like to point out that this line is in their liturgy and was quoted by Noel Chamberlain, famously, when he returned from Munchen in 1939, "Graciously grant us peace O Lord in our time." (quote needs edit check)
It seems that the Verleih was as popular a topic among the Lutheran composers as was the Magnifcat, they all did it and usually have several settings. A favorite of mine, both as to composer and as to performance by choir is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5prPiWxaiI&feature=related
Andreas Hammerschmidt, another contemporary of Schutz, is being reappreciated these days, and not a little by me. I actualy bought a CD copy of the linked to piece above, it's much longer than just the one stanza. After several listenings, I donated it to the local PL collection as usual.
As you might imagine, the Peace of Westfalen that ended the 30 Years War (1618-1648) was a huge reason to compose Verleihs and that is the occassion for this one. Before you listen to it, get into the horror of this war by reading the Wiki entries for the Magdeburger Hochzeit
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Magdeburg)
and wonder what the Lutheran services were like in the Magdeburger Dom during the long siege and how many plaintive Verleihs must have been sung. Surely daily, don't you think?
And another thing that the Peace of Westfalen brought in 1648- was the Peace Churches (3) in Silesia. Here is a lovely clip of the one in Jawor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51c3CtAL1JQ&NR=1
And the interior:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUAX1sYGz9o&feature=related
Wikipedia link (English):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churches_of_Peace
The Poles are doing a wonderful job of preserving them. Verleih uns frieden!
Love, love this. Another good example of why altos should not sing for the counter tenor.
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