Sophie Elisabeth Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg - Friedenssieg (La Protezione della Music)

Information

Composer: Sophie Elisabeth Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg

1. Waldnimphe Friedeguld: Angst und Qual
2. Töchter des Krieges: Ich, der hässlich bleiche Tod
3. Echo der Vernunft: Auf Echo und sprich mir nach
4. Die Tugend: Ach, sei uns tausendmal willkommen
5. Ein Loblied: Lobet ihr Schwester
6. Ein ander Loblied: Friedensgöttin sey willkommen
7. Der Friede: Ihr sterblichen Menschen
8. Gesang der Musen: Güldner Fried uns wol ergetzet
9. Ein Bürger: Wo soll ich doch immermehr
10. Ein andere Musengesang: Auf ihr Schwester, lasst uns gehen
11. Der Friede: Nun, ihr allesamt
12. Freudengejauchze: Öffnet die Tühre
13. Bawren Tantz
14. Ballett

La Protezione della Music

Jeroen Finke, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: Arcantus

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Sophie Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg’s Neu erfundenen Freudenspiel genannt Friedenssieg (“Newly Invented Play of Joy Called Peace Victory”) was first performed in 1642 to mark a preliminary peace agreement leading to the Peace of Westphalia. The work features allegorical figures—Death, Hunger, Poverty, and Injustice—described as the “daughters of war,” emphasizing both the devastation caused by conflict and the value of peace. Its themes remain strikingly relevant today. Heinrich Schütz greatly admired the Duchess’s music, leading to this recording’s inclusion in the Schola Sagittariana series by La Protezione della Musica, which is available exclusively through streaming platforms.

Sophie Elisabeth, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1613–1676), was a significant figure of the German early Baroque as a composer, poet, performer, and impresario. She received extensive musical training at her father’s court, influenced by English virtuoso musicians and guided by her musically educated stepmothers, who taught her lute and viola da gamba. Her husband supported her artistic development and, during the Thirty Years’ War, entrusted her with oversight of court musicians. Working with Heinrich Schütz, who also mentored her in composition, she reorganized court musical life and contributed to its revitalization. She composed instrumental sinfonias, dances, sacred songs, motets, and concertos, and created Festspiele that anticipated early German opera. Many of her works survive in Wolfenbüttel archives.

La Protezione della Musica was founded in 2015 by Jeroen Finke and has since become recognized for its historically informed performance practice. The ensemble is dedicated to preserving and promoting musical cultural heritage, with a particular focus on the rich yet lesser-known repertoire of the early seventeenth century. Combining high musical and scholarly standards, the group regularly creates concert programs and high-quality recordings that introduce overlooked works to modern audiences. Depending on the repertoire, performances range from intimate duo settings to full baroque orchestra productions, reflecting the ensemble’s versatility and commitment to authentic interpretation.