Heinrich Schütz's Musicalische Exequien was written for the funeral services of the Count Heinrich Posthumous Reuss, who died on December 3, 1635. The Count was a serious patron of music who devoted considerable resources to the court chapel. He was also a reasonably accomplished singer, and often directed the music performances at court. Having been in contact with Schütz from ca. 1617 onward (and having occasionally employed the composer to "reorganize" the music of his chapel), Reuss appears to have communicated with Schütz concerning his plans for his funeral, outlining his desires for the music in the service. Reuss chose the texts for his funeral music and had them also engraved on his coffin; these became the basis for Schütz's memorial composition, which was performed at the Count's funeral on February 4, 1636.

The first segment of Schütz's Musikalische Exequien is a large German motet which follows the general outline of a Lutheran "German Missa" (Kyrie and Gloria only). Its text uses citations from familiar hymns in the Lutheran liturgy grafted into a paraphrase of the Kyrie and Gloria of a normal German mass. It is scored for six-voice choir (perhaps doubled at the time by instruments) and six soloists. The second section is an eight-voice motet based on the text from Reuss' specified sermon. The third, and final, portion of the Exequien is a setting of the "Song of Simeon," a Biblical text also known as the "nunc dimitis." This motet is particularly interesting: one choir sings the text of the "Song of Simeon" while three other choirs sing a different text, "blessed are the dead who die in the name of the Lord...." Schütz specifies in his score that the three choirs are to be placed in the distance.

Although the Musicalische Exequien were published shortly after the funeral, they appear not to have been performed again in their entirety during the seventeenth century. Brahms owned a copy of the work and perhaps used it as a model for his German Requiem.





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