*Singen und Sagen: Praetorius’ Polyhymnia Caduceatrix et Panegyrica - A Concert for Hope in a Time of War*

Michael Praetorius’s *Polyhymnia Caduceatrix et Panegyrica* contains some of the most sophisticated polychoral writing in all of seventeenth-century German sacred music, representing a level of composition on par with  Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610.  Praetorius’s combination of vocal virtuosity, adventurous use of performance space, and unfettered orchestration make *Polyhymnia* a true spectacle.  The collection’s publication date of 1619, one year after the official beginning of the Thirty Years’ War, adds further poignancy to its lushness, as the subsequent years of strife and famine would decimate the massive forces
needed to perform it.

Nearly 400 years later, *Singen und Sagen* will bring together Eastman faculty, students, distinguished alumni, and musicians from the Rochester community for a free-to-the public, fully-orchestrated performance of some of the grandest works from *Polyhymnia*.

Produced by historical trombonist and Eastman alumnus Liza Malamut, and Stephen Kennedy, director of the Christ Church Schola Cantorum, the concert will feature the beautiful music of Praetorius performed by the Schola Cantorum and a period orchestra of sackbuts, cornetti, strings, organ, natural trumpets, and more.