Collegium Vocale Gent . Peter Kooij

The huge importance of Heinrich Schütz as 'father of German music' has in the past few decades finally become clear and has penetrated to the concert stage. Peter Kooij is known mostly as a bass, but these days is also a conductor. In the run-up to Christmas he focuses his efforts on the collection of motets that Schütz published in 1648 as 'Geistliche Chormusik' - a less than eloquent title for a group of brilliant works. These largely six-part motets illustrate that Schütz, despite his interest in 'modern' baroque music, was also thoroughly schooled in 'old-fashioned' counterpoint. Like Monteverdi he was convinced that the composer should first master the accomplishments of the past and only then elaborate upon them. Schütz's mastery of counterpoint was staggering. He couples strong compositional technique with unfailing attention to the meaning of the words sung. The Collegium Vocale excels in this music, which only the very best choruses can perform convincingly.