23104_Zajaczek_Sikorski_Broschuere_GB_#4c 22.09.09 17:57 Seite 1 04/09 SIKORSKI MUSIC PUBLISHERS • WWW.SIKORSKI.DE • [email protected] magazine Mysticism, Religion and Mythology City, Country ... Music 23104_Zajaczek_Sikorski_Broschuere_GB_#4c 22.09.09 17:56 Seite 2 Cover editorial Dear Readers, Mysticism,Religion When sacred music is and mentioned, one often immediately thinks of settings of the Mass, oratorios and Mythology cantatas. In New Music, however, the spectrum of the confrontation with this WorldWorld andand NationalNational PremieresPremieres 2009/102009/10 genre has been considerably expanded. Not only certain religions, but also None other than the universally receive its world premiere on 29 October subjects from the areas of mysticism interested theologian Hans Küng 2009 in Munich by the Bavarian Radio Choir and mythology have stimulated many has extensively occupied himself and Orchestra under Mariss Jansons, also belongs to the series of works which, in the contemporary composers to with the relationship between broadest sense, turn to a higher reality and create pseudo-religious works or new music and religion. Taking the thus to the wide area of mysticism. Kancheli forms of sacred music. three great composers Wolfgang uses Latin text quotations in a loose order Amadeus Mozart, Richard Wagner which is apparently arranged without any con- You will become acquainted with and Anton Bruckner as examples, nection to each other and which can be inter- some of these in this issue. preted in a variety of ways. The phrase he has tried to show what role “Mortuos plango” (“I lament the dead”) turns religiosity plays in the production up, or the reference to one’s own person More direct and perhaps more of each individual composer, and under the motto “Ad se ipsum” (“to oneself”), unequivocal than this is the approach to arrived at the conclusion that, “Ora et labora” (“pray and work”), a “Credo, compositions dedicated to actual qua verum” and a “Stabat mater dolorosa.” among other things, religious All these religious or worldly influenced text existing egions or cities. We have aspects tend to be more noticeable fragments appear like mottos which are sub- examined our catalogues, freely varying on the subjective level. jected to a musically defined whole. At the the name of the well-known quiz game world premiere in Munich, “Dixi” („I have “Now and then,” he writes, “I am removed – said“) will be contrasted with Beethoven’s 9th “City, Country, River” for concepts of and I can thank Mozart enough for this – into Symphony. “City, Country ... Music.” that peace that surpasses all critical and also The chamber work “Job’s Lament” for violin theological reason.” The fact that, of all and piano by Lera Auerbach received its people, Johann Sebastian Bach is missing world premiere at the Verbier Festival on 26 Alfred Schnittke’s 75th birthday is from Küng’s selection of outstanding compo- July 2009, performed by Dmitry Sitkovetsky reflected in the new Sikorski Magazine, sers is surprising at first glance. There is sure- and the composer herself at the piano. In this ly hardly another composer in whose work the as is the representation of recently work, the composer and poetess Lera correlation between music and religion is so Auerbach has dedicated herself to the biblical completed instrumental concertos of marked as in Bach. Anyone who listens to or figure of Job, who dogged by misfortune, New Music and the attempt of performs Bach’s cantatas is in that moment a begins to doubt his faith in God. Auerbach religious person, as the Dutch organist and avant-gardists to correlate the effect of based her work on her own poem entitled harpsichordist Ton Koopman quoted the “Job’s Lament.” light with musical concepts. In addition, remark of a listener and went on to say, “we Lera Auerbach has already composed a a special article is dedicated to special attempt to bring back religion with Bach’s “Russian Requiem”, which received its music.” instrumentation practices for big bands Latvian premiere in Riga on 22 August 2009 The relationship to religious contents and and its Estonian premiere on 23 August 2009 in the area of dance music. messages has continued to change during the in Tallinn with the Latvian State Choir and the course of the centuries and brought forth con- Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. In this troversial opinions. Thus a direct descendant We wish you many new vocal work, Auerbach connects Orthodox of Richard Wagner, Nike Wagner recently liturgical texts and poems with poetry of discoveries whilst reading. remarked, “Religion divides people – spiritua- Russian poets including Pushkin, Mandelstam lity is something completely different. That and Blok. The premiere of her Requiem for Dagmar Sikorski does not mean that one doesn’t have any fee- Icarus will take place in Washington with the Dr. Axel Sikorski lings. But it does mean that one doesn’t insist National Symphony Orchestra under the upon them.” direction of James Gaffigan on 18 February We have many works in our catalogues which, 2010. This is the final movement of her in the broadest sense, turn to the broad field Symphony No. 1 “Chimera.” Western art has of faith, to specific religions, but also to adjoi- time and again been concerned with the ning areas ranging from mysticism to cabba- Icarus myth. It tells of the high spirits of the lism. In addition, composers’ interest in religi- boy Icarus, the son of Daedalus, who made on and mysticism, as the many upcoming pre- artificial wings and attached them to his body con tent miere performances about which we are with wax. High up in the air, he felt akin to reporting here, seems to be growing stronger God and flew ever higher up in the direction 02 Mysticism, Religion and again. Daniel Nazareth’s “Bara’a Symphony” of the sun, where the wax began to melt and Mythology centres on the myth of the creation of the he suddenly plunged into the sea. Since self- earth and its creatures institutionalised by the limitation and devotion to a higher power also 03 world religions. Lera Auerbach dedicates a belong to the essence of Christianity, Instrumental Concerts Requiem to an ancient saga figure, thus com- Auerbach connects the idea of the commemo- in New Music bining mythology and Christian faith. The ration of the dead with the ancient saga figu- “Tetragrammaton” elevated to a subject by re. 04 Light transformed into Sound Moritz Eggert (Greek: „four-lettered”, tetra- “Oratorios do not necessarily have to be City, Country ... Music gram), for example, connects the name of sacred,” says the composer Moritz Eggert God (Yahweh, JVHH), the pentagram and from Heidelberg. Four years ago, he himself 06 other magical signs to a strong symbol repre- composed a so-called football oratorio entit- Mieczyslaw Weinberg sented on many protective amulets. led “The Depth of the Space” for soloists, Giya Kancheli’s new work “Dixi” for mixed orchestra and choir. He had fun in aesthetically 07 Alfred Schnittke’s 75th Birthday choir and symphony orchestra, scheduled to approaching the classical form of the ‘passion.’ 2|SIKORSKI magazine 23104_Zajaczek_Sikorski_Broschuere_GB_#4c 22.09.09 17:56 Seite 3 Focus poser approaches the great questions of Instrumental humanity concerning its origins and its ancho- ring in time and the universe. In the third part Concerts in of his Evolution Symphony, Nazareth illumina- tes the creation myth from four different per- spectives: the Judeo-Christian tradition, New Music Hinduism, the Maya myths and Greek mytho- Present-day composers have not logy. forgotten the good-old One of the most important works in contem- porary sacred music was written by Sofia instrumental concerto. Several of Gubaidulina. During the Bach Year 2000, the them have written concertos for Stuttgart International Bach Academy reque- rather unusual instruments such sted a contribution from Gubaidulina on the “Passion” theme. Gubaidulina composed the as the double bass, tympani and large-scale St. John Passion, with which she even the nose flute. The player appears as a Jesus-like figure and fulfilled a long-harboured wish. This work, In new music, composers generally treat solo the sports reporter as a kind of evangelist. expanded by Gubaidulina during the ensuing instruments and their greatly expanded Football is for many people a replacement for years, occupies a special place amongst the sonic possibilities in a quite experimental religion, says Eggert, and that is why the asso- many religiously influenced works by this com- way. ciative proximity to the sacred is not difficult. poser. Meanwhile it has been performed in The Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Ali- “But what’s important for me, above all, is the many countries of the world and is to be per- Zadeh composed a Double Concerto, a ironical potential of such an artistic elevation.” formed again in Helsinki on 31 January and Concerto for Violoncello, Percussion and Eggert recently completed a purely instru- 1 April 2010 by the Helsinki Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra entitled “Deniz” (Sea), mental work for string orchestra entitled Orchestra under the direction of Leif premiered by Ivan Monighetti on 19 October “Tetragrammaton” which rather belongs to Segerstam. 2009 in Bern. Ali-Zadeh has a very special the mystic, cabbalistic realm; it will receive its relationship to Switzerland and to the cello as premiere by the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra a solo instrument. In 1999 she was the first on 12 December 2009 in Stuttgart. In accor- woman to be composer in residence at the dance with the “occidental white-magical tra- W orld Premieres and International Music Festival in Lucerne. In dition,” the four letters of the National Premieres response to a commission from the Calouste Tetragrammaton “symbolise the totality of the Gulbenkian Foundation, she wrote a godly unity on earth,” whereby the fourness Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra symbolises the earth and the creative human 26.07.2009 Verbier that was premiered in Lisbon by Ivan being.