Amazon.com Respect for his texts--especially religious texts--was always paramount for Schütz; unfortunately, that respect sometimes makes his Lutheran music tough going for non-German-speakers. That always seemed to be a problem with the Psalmen Davids, in spite of the lavish and varied scoring (two to four soloists, one or two SATB choirs, strings, brass--all in various combinations in different pieces). Not here, though: the huge variety of emotion in the Psalms--from joy to fury to penitence to serenity--translates perfectly, thanks to the subtlety and grace of Cantus Cölln and Concerto Palatino. Junghänel's singers perform one-voice-per-part throughout, yet they lose little in contrast (compared with a full chorus) and nothing in excitement. (If you want a full chorus, try the performance led by Frieder Bernius on Sony Classical.) --Matthew Westphal.