Herr, neige deine Himmel und fahr herab, SWV 361

Heinrich Schütz, a towering figure in early German Baroque music, composed Herr, neige deine Himmel und fahr herab, SWV 361 as a motet for two voices (BB). The text, drawn from the Psalms, is a powerful plea for divine intervention. The singer implores God to descend, to manifest His power upon the mountains, scattering them with lightning and His rays. It continues with a cry for salvation from a flood and from foreign hands, before concluding with a vow to sing a new song to God, accompanied by a ten-stringed psaltery. The work thus moves from supplication and awe to thanksgiving and praise.