Vox Luminis - Hammerschmidt: Ach Jesus stirbt - Choir & Organ

Andreas Hammerschmidt is the most significant 17th-century Lutheran German composer you’ve never heard of – or if you have, it’s been difficult to access his music. Lionel Meunier and Vox Luminis have once again shed light on a composer whose music deserves to be far better known. Hammerschmidt’s music is similar to the synthesis of the Lutheran polyphonic style and the Italian baroque that we find in Schütz, his celebrated contemporary. Meunier has devised a programme suitable for Passiontide and Easter, exquisitely delivered with just the right degree of refined expression in the voices to make all sound natural rather than contrived. There are also stylish instrumental contributions from members of Vox Luminis and Clematis. Vox Luminis’s sharing of their discovery of this composer is infectious – a magnificent recording in every sense.