Es soll keiner

This German canon for STB voices opens with a sense of playful argument. The imitative entries of the voices create a close texture, as the music itself enacts the text's call not to mock something one cannot improve. The composer uses the contrapuntal possibilities of canon to set a proverb, where each voice successively states the argument that it is easier to dismiss something than to replicate it. The secular text, full of Renaissance wit, is perfectly matched by the nimble, engaging music. It is a concise and effective example of secular canonic writing from the period.