Like so many works of their kind, Schutz's motets for double choir are above all essays in contrast, of texture and colour as well as of space. Although the technique rarely gives rise to a sound-world that is anything less than spectacular, you may also find that the pieces are, by Schutz's normal standards, relatively unsophisticated and at times disappointingly stereotyped. In this 1971 recording, the two choirs are placed at the very extremes of the recorded space, almost to the point of having been allocated separate channels. Admittedly this enhances the dialogue, but in the process it also diminishes the sense of the building's overall space, and the result is not entirely realistic.
The choir sings sensitively and, where necessary, with great power, but its tone is richer than the music seems to require, and the effect is sometimes less clear, brilliant and alert than one would like. This is true even of the unaccompanied pieces; and when loud wind and brass are added, the texture soon becomes clogged. Added to this, my pressing suffered from a disappointing level of surface noise. Approach this record with a degree of caution, then, unless you are an insatiable collector of motets for double choir or the music of Schutz.'