Repertoire

Andreas Raselius [Raesel] was a Kantor, pastor, teacher, composer, theorist, and scholar. He is represented in this concert by three pieces. Another early Baroque German composer, he studied in Heidelberg and eventually assumed the position of teacher there. In 1584, he left Heidelberg for religious reasons, having already earned his Master’s degree. He then worked as Kantor in Regensburg until the Prince-Elector of the Palatinate Friedrich IV called him back to Heidelberg as a Kapellmeister in 1600.

Raselius espoused the cause first proposed by Lucas Osiander in 1586 to compose simple chorale settings that the congregation could sing. He composed a set of motets based on texts from the gospels covering the whole year, like some of his contemporaries, such as, for example, Melchior Franck. Like Franck, he likes to expressively contrast homophonic and polyphonic textures, often in a manner that shows his knowledg e of the Venetian polychoral techniques and his mastery of them. He always paid attention to the text and its emotional implications, and it is clear from his musical setting and the relationship between words and music in his composition that he was always very careful that the words come through clearly.