Motet Notes

Heinrich Schütz: "Selig sind die Toten," SWV 391 - Geistliche Chormusik

While the words from Revelation in this magnificent motet are nowadays most associated with funeral services, their strong eschatological slant make them entirely appropriate to the final Sundays in Trinity. The most well known setting of these words is in the Brahms Requiem and our motet has a rich Brahmsian cast to it, particularly at the words “sie ruhen von ihren Arbeit.”

©Craig Smith