Violence, hunger and epidemic diseases made death omnipresent at the time of the Thirty Years’ War. for every Christian, especially in times of crisis, preparing for their own earthly end was an integral part of life. An expression of this forgotten art of “dying well” are the “Musikalische Exequien” SWV 279-281, which Heinrich Schtz composed at the beginning of 1636 for the funeral celebrations of Heinrich Posthumus Reu, Lord of Gera. They are among the most fascinating funeral music in European music history and at the same time mark an absolute high point in Heinrich Schtz’s oeuvre. The “Exequien” are a unique artistic-religious exploration of the questions of earthly suffering and the promise of eternal life.

The revised new edition replaces volume 4 of the New Schtz Edition (BA00250) edited by Friedrich Schneich in 1961. for the first time, the editor Beate Agnes Schmidt compares the only, albeit incomplete, surviving first print from the Waldenburg choir archive with contemporary copies and the Spitta edition. This new edition thus offers a substantial reconstruction of the original score. The preface discusses important questions about the genesis and special performance situation of the “Exequien”. Aspects of Schtz’s authorship are presented in a new light on the basis of newly evaluated sources.

The edition is supplemented by an extensive illustrated appendix, which offers facsimiles of the partbooks and original text sources as well as sketches, coffin inscriptions and other memorabilia. in addition, the new edition contains a historical-critical text edition of Schtz’s text contributions and detailed descriptions and evaluations of the sources in the Critical Report.