Heinrich Schütz, (1585-1672), the greatest Lutheran musician before J.S. Bach is commemorated in the Lutheran calendar on July 26, along with J.S. Bach and George Frederick Handel. The 350th anniversary of Schütz’s death (November 6, 1672) has sparked a mini-renaissance of Schütz’s music around the world and in Canada. Read more about the cross-Canada offerings here: https://schuetzfest350.ca/
Schütz’s vast musical legacy is almost exclusively sacred choral music and includes settings of many psalms, other scripture, the first German requiem, and exquisite settings of the Christmas and Easter stories. Schütz lived and composed during the Thirty Years War and several outbreaks of the plague. Many of the 350th anniversary concerts are making the connection with war and the pandemic in our time.
In the Eastern Synod there are several Schützfest 350 events in Southwestern Ontario on the November 4-6 weekend and in Toronto on the November 11-13 weekend.
Schütz’s requiem, or Musikalische Exequien is the centrepiece of concerts by the Nota Bene Players and Singers and the U of T Theatre of Early Music in Dundas, Waterloo, Hanover, and Toronto. Other concerts in Toronto feature Jonathon Adams, the first Indigenous artist-in-residence at the U of T Faculty of Music, Capella Intima, the Gallery Players of Niagara and the Toronto Chamber Choir.
A reconstructed Lutheran service from Schütz’s time as Kapellmeister in Dresden will take place at St. George’s Lutheran Church, Toronto, 11:00 am, Sunday, Nov 13, with members of the U of T Schola Cantorum performing sacred music by Schütz within the liturgy. Free-will offering. This service will be livestreamed on the St. George’s Lutheran Church YouTube channel, and the link will be posted on https://schuetzfest350.ca/ and on https://www.st-georges-lutheran.com/
To purchase tickets or a Toronto Schützfest 350 festival pass please visit: https://schuetzfest350.ca/concerts