Motet notes - Schütz

"Auf dem Gebirge" is perhaps the most impressive of the instrumentally accompanied works in the Geistliche Chormusik. Two high tenors lie on top of an ensemble of low instruments. The opening in particular with its echo effects has an emotional connection to the horrifying story of Herod's infanticide. The contact and repetitious counterpoint in an ingenious portrayal of the inconsolable Rachel.