Immortal brook

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Knut Nystedt (2007)

Immortal Bach (“Immortal Bach”), op. 153b, is an a cappella composition for mixed choir ( SATB ). The piece was developed by the Norwegian composer Knut Nystedt from the first line of the chorale Come, sweet death by Johann Sebastian Bach . The piece, which is only five minutes long, is sometimessungat individual tempos , so that the choir voicesfan out to form clusters of sounds.

Emergence

Nystedt grew up in a Christian family where singing hymns and classical music were part of everyday life. In 1950 he founded the vocal ensemble Det Norske Solistkor , which he directed until 1990. Among his 300 or so choral works, which make up around three quarters of his oeuvre, there are many sacred pieces, including De Profundis , op. 54, a setting of Psalm 130 (1966), and Missa brevis , Op. 102 (1984).

The year of composition was given in a review as 1987; In 1988 Immortal Bach appeared for the first time in a music publisher . In 1990 Nystedt conducted his piece at the end of his last concert with Det Norske Solistkor .

music

Immortal Bach is an arrangement of the first line of Komm, Süßer Tod , a death song for voice and basso continuo , which Bach contributed to Schemelli's hymn book ( BWV 478). The text that Nystedt used is: “Come on, sweet death. Come on, blissful rest. Come lead me into peace. ”Nystedt harmonized the section for choir a cappella. The choir first sings this four-part movement. What follows obeys an instruction to sing the sentence unchanged, but at the same time in groups at different speeds. In the first and third sections all start at the same time and hold out the first chord for a long time. Then the voices sing at different tempo, with four-part groups maintaining the same tempo, and everyone waits at the fermata until they have reunited. The soprano begins the second section alone with a powerful high note, to which the lower voices join, and then proceed as usual. The work begins and ends pianissimo .

The sheet music for Immortal Bach consists of a single sheet of eight bars on two staves . Nystedt did not compose a single note of the arrangement; the melody comes unchanged from Bach's movement. Nystedt creates a new tonal appearance solely through his instructions for the performance.

The work was described as a theology that finds its expression in sound by taking the term “timeless” literally and thus conveying a fleeting impression of eternity (“glimpse ... of eternity”).

Recordings and performance practice

Nystedt recommended placing the choir members in a circle around the audience.

In 1996 the Holst Singers recorded under the direction of Stephen Layton at Hyperion Immortal Bach , with special attention given to the surround sound. This recording is particularly slow at 6:41 minutes and is considered a successful implementation.

In 2015 the Norske Solistkor recorded music by Bach and Nystedt in the Ris kirke in Oslo under the direction of Nystedt's successor, Grete Pedersen . Immortal Bach concludes the recording published by BIS , albeit in an arrangement by Pedersen in which the voices are emphasized by strings . One reviewer described this arrangement as difficult to reconcile with Nystedt's original concept, since the instruments dominate and the vocal sound does not mix continuously while listening. Another arrangement for brass band by Pedersen exists , op 153c.

In 2017 Simone Rubino recorded a percussion arrangement by Immortal Bach for four marimbas , which he published on Genuin .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Knut Nystedt . Archdiocese of Cologne . 2003. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b c d e John Quinn: Meins Lebens Licht / Knut Nystedt (1915-2014) ( English ) February 2016. Retrieved on July 13, 2019.
  3. ^ Nystedt Chamber and Vocal Works . In: Gramophone . 1993. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  4. ↑ Knut Nystedt, Johann Sebastian Bach: Immortal Bach . Norsk Musikforlag, Oslo 1988.
  5. ↑ a b Vladimir Morosan: Immortal Bach ( English ) Hyperion Records. 1997. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  6. ↑ a b c d Piece of music of the week with the SWR vocal ensemble / Bach through the sound curtain , SWR . 21. Retrieved July 13, 2019. 
  7. ↑ Immortal Bach . Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  8. ↑ Ikon, Vol. 1 , Sacred Choral Music from Eastern Europe (1996), Holst Singers, Stephen Layton (conductor), Hyperion CDA66928.
  9. ↑ Nystedt / Bach - My Life's Light . BIS 2015, BIS-2184 SACD.
  10. ^ Works by Nystedt for brass band , op 153c.
  11. ^ Immortal Bach , works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Roberto Bocca, Carlo Boccadoro, Knut Nystedt, Iannis Xenakis and John Cage, performed by Simone Rubino, percussion and ESEGESI Percussion Quartet. 2017, GEN 17479.