Scholarly Abstractions: German Motets of Schütz

Garrepy, Stacey A.  Toward A New Stylistic Ideal: The German Motets of Heinrich Schütz. Master of Music thesis. University of Oklahoma, 2011.

 

This document analyzes the chronological style anomalies (viz. the presence of both late Renaissance and early Baroque influences) in the compositions of Heinrich Schütz as evidenced through his vernacular German motets. In this study, we examine nine of Schütz’s German motets in five different works written over the course of his career in order to gain a broader understanding of Schütz’s compositional style; the motets span in time from 1619 to just prior to Schütz’s death in 1672.  Elements informing our discussion include modal and tonal analysis, complex socio-political movements in Dresden (such as the Thirty Years’ War and the growing cultural love of all things Italian in Dresden), and Schütz’s own theology.  This study is intended to inform the discussion regarding composers such as Schütz, whose work spans the end of one style era and lapses into another. In closing, this thesis posits some explanations for why these works are neglected in the standard choral canon.

 

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