Samuel Scheidt was born in Halle, and studied in Amsterdam with Sweelinck. He also seems to have been influenced by Praetorius. His double-choir pieces are either based on Lutheran chorales, or written in bold Italian style.
This setting of Gelobet seystu Jesu Christ, like all the other double-choir pieces by Scheidt included in the present series, is taken from his Cantiones Sacrae Octo Vocum, (Hamburg, 1620).
The chorale used here, which celebrates the birth of Christ, is one of the original 35 hymns included in Luther’s Geystliche Lieder Mit einer newen Vorrede (Leipzig, 1545), which provides six additional stanzas. It was frequently set during the next hundred years or so: there are several settings in Praetorius’ Musae Sioniae.
As is often the case in Scheidt’s settings of Lutheran chorales, the composer plays with short phrases derived from the chorale, building up quite a substantial structure from what is a simple melody of four phrases. Another distinctive feature is the very short final tutti, which can easily take performers by surprise.
Translation:
Be praised, Jesu Christ,
For being born as a human
From a virgin, that is true,
Therefore the crowd of angels rejoice:
Kyrie eleison.
