Missa Concertata in Echo - Christoph Straus (1575 - 1631)

Christoph Straus was born in Vienna into a family of musicians who served the Habsburgs for a long time. He held several prominent positions, including that of organist at St. Michael’s in Vienna; from 1616 he was court composer, before becoming chapel master in 1620 at the court of Keizer Ferdinand II until his death in 1631. At the same time, he was choir director of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. The music of Christoph Straus is strongly influenced by musical developments in Italy around the turn of the century. For example, the polychoral music of composers like Giovanni Gabrieli was very well known at the court in Vienna. Christoph Straus applies these techniques in his music. The Missa Concertata is one of the 16 masses that Christoph Straus wrote for St. Stephen's Cathedral. These masses were published in Vienna in 1631, the year of his death. As early as 1613, he published a collection of 36 (mostly) polychoral motets. From this collection, the Completen perform the 9-part O rex gloriae and the 10-part Beati omnes.