Banchetto Musicale
Program Notes by Martin Pearlman
Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630) was, along with Heinrich Schütz, one of the most important German composers of the early Baroque and, as cantor at the Thomasschule in Leipzig, was one of the most illustrious predecessors of J. S. Bach. His music reflects what were then the latest innovations of early Italian Baroque composers, even though, unlike Schütz, he never traveled to Italy. Despite the high quality and historical importance of his music, Schein is considerably less well known than Schütz to the general public, a fact that one writer attributes to his never having left Germany, his chronic poor health, and a lifespan about half as long as that of his contemporary.
Although the far greater portion of Schein's output was vocal music, his best known work is perhaps a collection of instrumental suites which he published in 1617 under the title Banchetto Musicale (Musical Banquet). The collection is a milestone in German instrumental music. It contains twenty suites, all of which are "variation suites" -- i. e. suites in which every movement is based on variations of the same material. All the suites have an identical format: Padouana (Pavane), Gagliarda, and Courente in five voices concluded by an Allemande and Tripla in four voices. The first two of these movements are older dances, while the Courente and Allemande are more "modern" dances. In every suite, the Allemande is followed by a variation in triple meter, the tripla.
The instrumentation for these suites is not specified in the score. Although Schein does write in his preface that he prefers to have viols included, some of the music also suggests early violin writing (which would be the more Italianate choice). Schein also tells us that he will begin providing a written part for a keyboard continuo player in his next published work.He is clearly already interested in the relatively new Italian practice of continuo. For almost a decade, performers had been adding continuo accompaniments to various earlier pieces that had been written without a keyboard, including even some works of Palestrina. It may therefore not be out of bounds to consider adding a continuo accompaniment to some of the suites in Banchetto Musicale.
Boston Baroque Performances
Suite No. 6 from Banchetto Musicale
October 9, 1992
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
November 11, 1988
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA