The temptation of Jesus

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The Temptation of Jesus is a composition for mixed choir a cappella by Gustav Gunsenheimer from 1968. It is a gospel motet for Lent based on the gospel Temptation of Jesus according to Matthew ( Matthew 4.1–11  EU ). The biblical text is concluded by the first stanza of the chorale “ Such, who wants there, another goal ” on a text by Georg Weissel , in the original melody by Johann Stobäus . The performance lasts approximately four minutes. The motet was published by Carus-Verlag in 1968. The composition is characterized by the fact that the devil does not sing but speaks, sometimes in canon .

Motet cycle

Gunsenheimer composed a series of five motets for the Sundays of Lent:

  1. Jesus and the two disciples (1966)
  2. The Temptation of Jesus (1968)
  3. Jesus and the daughter of Jairus , after the raising of the daughter of Jairus (1969)
  4. The healing of the blind , after the healing of the blind Bartimaeus (1970)
  5. Jesus and the Canaanite Woman (1971)

In 1972 he added a motet for a Sunday after Easter: Jesus and the unbelieving Thomas , after the meeting of the unbelieving Thomas with Jesus.

composition

The structure of the work follows the biblical story of the devil who leads Jesus into the desert and makes three seductive suggestions. The piece begins in F sharp minor in free time, which sometimes changes from the predominant 4/4 time to 5/4 time without explicit marking in order to follow the emphasis on the text. At the beginning, no speed is prescribed, but later there are indications such as “wider”. The soprano is usually divided. The male voices are sometimes divided into three parts, but six voices never sound at the same time.

The composer clearly differentiates between three “persons” through different choral setting. The narrator is sung by a two- to five-part choir that vividly illustrates the text. The devil does not sing, but the choir speaks his text in a precisely prescribed rhythm and with great dynamism. The second temptation ends with a three-part canon, which is whispered intensely at the end. The third temptation ends in a four-part, steadily increasing canon. Jesus, on the other hand, always sings homophonically , similar to a recitative , in two to five voices. The gospel text ends with the story of how the angels serve him. The music turns to D major , the key for the final chorale in the four-part movement.

The Temptation of Jesus was recorded in 1998 by the Dresden Kreuzchor , directed by Roderich Kreile .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 6. Look for someone else who wants to . cpdl.org. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  2. ↑ The temptation of Jesus . Carus publishing house. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  3. ↑ a b c The temptation of Jesus . Carus-Verlag , 1968.
  4. ^ A b Gustav Gunsenheimer / Siegfried Strohbach / Gospel motets . fritzkraemer.de. June 22, 2008. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  5. ↑ Archive 2 - The Year 1998 ( English ) Retrieved on February 10, 2016.