Christophorus Demantius (1567-1643)

An exact contemporary of Monteverdi (they were born en died in the same years), the Bohemian Christophorus Demantius was a prodigiously inventive composer totally outside the Italian avant-garde movement heralded by his transalpine 'twin'. And yet, paradoxically enough, not unlike Gesualdo (perhaps even more autonomously), he explored new musical avenues with extraordinary ingenuity while remaining attached to the polyphonic style of the Renaissance. In this respect these highly festive 'Whitsun Vespers' are something like a sumptuous transition from the 'old' counterpoint of Lassus and Praetorius to the imminent innovations of Schein and Schütz.