Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654) was a German musician and composer who worked with Michael Praetorius and Heinrich Schütz at a time when Europe was being torn apart by religious wars. However this turmoil is far to the background in this collection of sacred concertos, which can be summed up with a single word review: joyful. My first listen to this release was in my car. The singing, by Roland Wilson's excellent vocal ensemble La Capella Ducale, is in German so I struggled to make sense of the words. Also, I had not brought the CD case with me so I could not read the titles. However, as I say, the overwhelming impression is one of joy and once I could read the translations I found that my assessment was accurate: "Come, You Blessed", "Rejoice In The Wife Of Your Youth", "My Soul, Now Bless Thy Maker!" and "Now Thank We All Our God" stand out but there is not a poor song on the disc. The music shows its age: at some points looking back to earlier chants, at others looking ahead to the emerging baroque. What particularly struck your reviewer was the contemporary brass sound from the period music group Musica Fiata. In all, an interesting and enjoyable release.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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