Immortal bach knut nystedt biography

Komm, süsser Tod. Komm, sel'ge Ruh'. Komm führe mich in Friede.

Come, sweet death. Come blessed rest. Come and lead me to peace.

Knut Nystedt (1915-2014) was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway, and grew up in a Christian home where hymns and classical music were an important part of everyday life. His major compositions for choir and vocal soloists are mainly based on texts from the Bible or sacred themes. Old church music, especially Palestrina and Gregorian chants, had a major influence on his compositions.

This piece is an arrangement of the first line of Bach's four-part setting of the funeral song 'Komm, süßer Tod'. It uses a technique known as ‘phasing’ - patterns sung by different groups together which gradually fall out of synch (the aural equivalent of a blurry photograph) before coming back into focus again.

Recorded in Wellington Cathedral of St. Paul by RNZ Concert

Producer/sound engineer: Darryl Stack

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NOTE:  Please observe this composer’s composition technique of morphing the chorale into this deeply spiritual tonal journey.  The slow changes are misleading unless you listen carefully to the inner voices. A very beautiful composition.

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Knut Nystedt (born 1915)
Immortal Bach

A variation of the beginning of Bach’s choral “Komm süßer Tod” (BWV 478) which is sung initially:
Five choirs sing the same original music but in different tempi and wait at the end of each phrase.

lyrics:
Komm süßer Tod, komm sel’ge Ruh!
Komm, führe mich in Friede.

translation:
Come sweet death, come celestial ease!
Come, lead me in peace.

The recording shows the Monteverdi Choir Würzburg with its conductor Matthias Beckert at the memorial concert on March 16, 2008 in the Augustinerkirche commemorating the 63rd anniversary of the bombing of Würzburg.
For further information please visit
http://www.monteverdi-choir.com

Musical composition by Knut Nystedt

Immortal Bach, Op. 153, is a choral composition from 1988 by Knut Nystedt, derived from the first line of Bach's funeral song "Komm, süßer Tod" (Come, sweet death). He scored it for mixed choira cappella divided among many individual voices.

Background

The Norwegian composer Knut Nystedt 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, and Missa brevis, Op. 102, in 1984. In 1987, he derived Immortal Bach from the first line of Johann Sebastian Bach's setting of the funeral song "Komm, süßer Tod". It was published in 1999 by Norsk Musikforlag 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 appeared in Schemellis Gesangbuch, BWV 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. Come, 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 temp

WordPress is turning out to be a great place to discover classical music. Here’s another gem that came my way recently.

I’d never heard of Knut Nystedt before. He composed mostly choral works and was influenced by Palestrina and Gregorian chants. Here’s his biography on Wikipedia: Knut Nystedt

This piece, Immortal Bach, is so achingly beautiful, but it’s not saccharine.  It subtly and slowly changes almost imperceptibly and becomes kind of dissonant at the end.  It fools you, with all those high soprano voices and you’re lilting along with them and then all of a sudden you realize it’s kind of spooky.  Capable of sending chills down your spine.

If anyone is familiar with his work or life, please leave a comment.

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Writer and Education Professional. Specialties include Ethics, Personal Memoir, Classical music, Tai Chi, Stress Reduction, Meditation, Coping, Classical Music, Aging, Love, Joy, Compassion and Equanimity (& what interests me.) View all posts by kurtnemes