''Immortal Bach'', Op. 153, is a

choral composition A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

from 1988 by

Knut Nystedt Knut Nystedt (3 September 1915 – 8 December 2014) was a Norwegian orchestral and choral composer. Early life Nystedt was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway, and grew up in a Christian home where hymns and classical music were an important ...

, derived from the first line of Bach's funeral song " Komm, süßer Tod" (Come, sweet death). He scored it for

mixed choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

divided among many individual voices.

Background

The Norwegian composer

grew up in a Christian family, where hymns and classical music were part of everyday life. In 1950, he founded a vocal ensemble, Det Norske Solistkor, which he conducted until 1990. Among his roughly 300 choral compositions, which account for three quarters of his works, he wrote several pieces of sacred music, including ''De Profundis'', Op. 54, a 1966 setting of

Psalm 130 Psalm 130 is the 130th psalm of the Book of Psalms, one of the penitential psalms and one of 15 psalms that begin with the words "A song of ascents" (Shir Hama'alot). The first verse is a call to God in deep sorrow, from "out of the depths" or " ...

, and

Missa brevis Missa brevis (plural: Missae breves) is . The term usually refers to a mass composition that is short because part of the text of the Mass ordinary that is usually set to music in a full mass is left out, or because its execution time is relati ...

, Op. 102, in 1984. In 1987, he derived ''Immortal Bach'' from the first line of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

's setting of the funeral song " Komm, süßer Tod". It was published in 1999 by

Norsk Musikforlag Norsk Musikforlag Aktieselskap is a Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographi ...

in Oslo. ''Immortal Bach'' was the last piece Nystedt conducted with Det Norske Solistkor before he retired.

Music

''Immortal Bach'' is an arrangement of the first line of Bach's four-part setting of the funeral song " Komm, süßer Tod". The song for a singer and

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...

appeared in ''

Schemellis Gesangbuch Schemellis Gesangbuch (Schemelli's hymnal) is the common name of a collection of sacred songs titled ''Musicalisches Gesang-Buch'' (Musical song book) published in Leipzig in 1736 by Georg Christian Schemelli, to which Johann Sebastian Bach contr ...

'',

BWV The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2a ...

478. The text of the first eight measures which Nystedt used is "Komm, süßer Tod. Komm, sel'ge Ruh'. Komm führe mich in Friede." (Come, sweet death. Komm, blessed rest. Come and lead me to peace.) Nystedt harmonised the bassline to a four-part setting a cappella. The choir first sings this setting. What follows is an arrangement scheme, according to which the singers perform the same music, but in different tempo. In the first and third phrase, all voices begin together and hold the first note for a long time until each voice moves forward in different tempo, and all wait at the end of the phrase until united again. The second phrase is treated slightly differently: the sopranos alone enter on a forceful high note, while the lower voices enter together later, then proceeding as in the other phrases. The work begins and ends

pianissimo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer dependin ...

. Nystedt recommended to place the singers surrounding the audience.

Vladimir Morosan Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

, a Russian composer and musicologist with a focus on sacred choral music, wrote liner notes for

Hyperion Records Hyperion Records is an independent British classical record label. History Hyperion is an independent British classical label that was established in 1980 with the goal of showcasing recordings of music in all genres and from all time period ...

and described the result as "theology expressed in sound", giving meaning to the phrase "time-less", and as a "glimpse ... of eternity".

Recordings

"Immortal Bach" concludes the record ''Immortal Nystedt'', recorded by Norwegian chamber choir Ensemble 96 (conductor

Øystein Fevang Øystein Fevang (born December 25, 1963) is a Norwegian singer and choir conductor. He conducts the Oslo Philharmonic Choir. He studied singing and conducting at the music conservatory in Oslo and at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Fevang conducte ...

). The record received two Grammy nominations, and MusicWeb International wrote: "This arrangement is not obvious in vanilla stereo but, goodness, there are some astonishingly long, sustained choral passages that must require phenomenal breath control. The organ-like sonorities that result are most impressive and a reminder, if it were needed, that this is a choir of considerable talent." Nystedt's vocal ensemble, Det Norske Solistkor, recorded music by Bach and Nystedt in 2015, conducted by

Grete Pedersen Grete Pedersen (born 1960) is a Norwegian choral conductor and former footballer. Career in music She is noted for her work with Det Norske Solistkor which she has conducted since 1990. She often features Scandinavian repertoire, but her recording ...

, concluding with ''Immortal Bach''. A reviewer called the piece "an amazingly challenging essay in soft, sustained vocal sound".

References

External links

Works for choir
knutnystedt.com {{Italic title Choral compositions 1988 compositions