Seelentrost

Seelentrost: The sound of inner life in Heinrich Schütz time
Isabel Schicketanz
Perfect Noise, 2024

This is one of those delightful occasions were a complex and highly nuanced solo program both holds together as a musical sequence and is wonderfully executed, combining intellectual joy with sonic beauty. Seelentrost translates as ‘soul comfort’ and appears to be a popular title for playlists of many types on Spotify. This program is different however, it explores music about the soul through ‘musical leitmotifs - as Dr Oliver Geistler describes it in his program note - that proliferate in the early Baroque. On the way we meet Sophie Elizabeth (1613–1676) a pupil of Shütz and a well worth getting to know. We also meet the artistry of Isabel Schicketanz and I suspect we’ll all be watching out for her in future: she’s a baroque specialist with a steel core, and readers may have recently noted her sparkling singing on Abendmusik (Capella de la Torre, 11/24). Here, in her debut solo recital disc she sings with empathy as well as vocal prowess as her program moves from darkness, to love and faith, and finally to acceptance of death. [...]

For the full text of this review please visit gramophone.co.uk (February, 2025)