That Praetorius's church music is so little known today is partly because there is so much of it; the Musae Sioniae alone contains some 1,244 motets, all inspired by a Lutheran approach. Between the publication of that collection in 1609, and his death at Wolfenbuttel in 1621 at the age of 50, Praetorius was much influenced by the new Italian style, and particularly by the Venetian polychoral motets of the Gabrielis. It is these late pieces, taken from the Polyhymnia caduceatrix et panegyrica of 1618-19 and the Puericinium of 1621, that make up the major part of the director of The Parley of Instruments, Peter Holman's selection. Praetorious was not the first composer working in Germany to draw upon the style (Hans Leo Hassler had already been inspired by it), but the importance of his skilful fusion of the Italian baroque idiom with the traditional Lutheran chorale has certainly been overshadowed by the church music of Heinrich Schutz. It is an imbalance that this new record will help to correct.
Schutz's music was written for professional court ensembles; Praetorius, on the other hand, was composing for amateur choirs. It is this fact as well as questions of tradition and religious function that explains the central importance of the chorale in these pieces. The bright, clear and firm singing of the Westminster Cathedral Choir is ideal for the ripieno choruses which are such a feature of these works, and the choir is expertly, and imaginatively supported by The Parley of Instruments. Incidentally, the instrumentalists play on stringed instruments of contemporary design which produce a viol-like sound (with rather more edge) that is distinctly different from the characteristic late-baroque tone. Praetorius's wish that his music be accessible is even more evident in the pieces from the Puericinium, all of which rely on contrast between verses for four solo boys' voices and a refrain chorus. And it is the boys who come out so well on this record, with only very occasional ragged edges or uncertainties of pitch. The rather intimate spirit of the music has been well conveyed in the recording, though there is a tendency for the upper line to predominate. In short, this is a welcome addition to the catalogue; largely simple and well-crafted music sensitively performed and recorded.'