Johann Schelle's epic setting of Psalm 103 Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele.
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Johann Schelle was born in the Saxon town of Geising, where he received his earlymusical training from his father who was the town Kantor and schoolmaster. At the age of 7 he entered the choir of the electoral chapel in Dresden where the elderly Heinrich Schütz was the director. Later, Schelle continued his education at the Thomasschule in Leipzig under Sebastian Knüpfer and eventually succeeded him to the post of Thomaskantor in 1677. Schelle’s output consists predominantly of sacred works written for Leipzig, including annual cycles of cantatas that were experimental in style, and psalm settings often on a grand scale. The most elaborate of these settings is the 26-part setting of psalm 103, Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele. Here, Schelle used all the available resources that Leipzig had to offer to create one of the most varied and brilliant settings in the entire 17th century. The present edition of Lobe den Herrn based on the manuscript score held at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. The work has previously been available in score as part of the Denkmäler deutscher Tonkunst series (volumes 58/59), published in 1918.