Sven-David Sandstrom comments on his “Messiah” oratorio

I enjoyed meeting composer Sven-David Sandström yesterday and discussing his “Messiah” oratorio, a work commissioned by the Oregon Bach Festival and the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart. Many thanks to the OBF for their help arranging the interview.

Here are a few comments from the composer on his new work. I hope to post more from the interview at a later date.


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Click here for more on the Messiah project.

July 11, 2009 | Filed Under Sandström: Messiah, Videos, New Music | Leave a Comment 

The Second Coming

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‘Astounding’—that’s the word I’d chose to sum up last night’s Sandström Messiah premiere. What a gift the composer has for speaking to his audience in an inventive and immediately understandable way. It was a privilege and delight to hear the work rendered by the OBF Chorus and Orchestra under the direction Helmuth Rilling. The chorus was one of the best I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing live.

As much as I’d like to relay the substance of this experience, recalling the details of Sandström’s two-hour Messiah is a job I’m not inclined to attempt. I will say, though, that the piece is stunningly beautiful, original and communicative–qualities not always found hand in hand when it comes to new music. Especially striking to me is the choral writing. Though obviously very challenging, it’s absolutely masterful. Every one of the oratorio’s 18 choruses has the polish if not the weight of a concert centerpiece.

Sandström was obviously not swayed by the ghost of Handel in creating this new work. Not only does the piece speak with a completely new musical vocabulary, it’s marked by fresh structure and emphasis. Where Handel’s Messiah features a solo aria, Sandström’s may feature a trio, a tenor/baritone duet or even a chorus. And more germane to the message of the piece, the emphasis of the text is fresh as well, and aptly so. After all, isn’t there more than one way to think about a passage like, “The people that walk in darkness have seen a great light”? Are we to be struck especially by the darkness or the light? With this and other passages in the libretto, Sandström’s points of emphasis differ from Handel’s, but in ways that make sense, that even make new sense, I would say. For example, the opening chorus in Handel’s Messiah, “Comfort ye my people”, is a calming tenor aria set in a bright major key, whereas in Sandström’s it’s a dark, poignant, pleading chorus set in minor.

There’s also a fresh sense of pacing with the Jennens libretto, partly owed to freedom from baroque forms. We’re used to hearing many parts of Handel’s Messiah twice every time we have the pleasure of their company as repetition is a basic structural element in the arias. The trade-off in moving away from that is that the drama unfolds with a noticeably different sense of momentum in the Sandström piece. The new work is about a half hour shorter than Handel’s. The effectiveness of that pacing is something that only the individual listener can asses. Personally, I think it worked very well.

I learned last night that Sandström’s Messiah will be recorded in Europe this fall and made available on CD at next year’s Oregon Bach Festival. That’s great news. Certainly OBF audiences will welcome it. Their enthusiasm last night could hardly be contained as they all but leaped over seats in rising for ten minutes of sustained applause—very much deserved.

All photos courtesy of Jon Meyers. Used with permission and gratitude.

July 10, 2009 | Filed Under Sandström: Messiah, Concerts, New Music | Leave a Comment 

New music, same Messiah

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There are a variety of reasons to be excited about the premiere of a piece of music like Sven-David Sandström’s new Messiah oratorio, not the least of which is the sheer promise of a great composer setting a great libretto. The premiere of Sandström’s new work, which is only minutes away now, is significant not only in terms of its scope, at nearly two hours in length and scored for chorus and orchestra, and its significance goes beyond the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the death of George Frideric Handel, which sparked the commission from the Oregon Bach Festival and the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart. Along with these things, and even more than these, I appreciate the significance of this work as a fresh artistic expression of faith.

That music has thus been written in the shadow of Handel 250 years after his passing is remarkable for sure. But the fact that the very same Messiah texts, comprised entirely of Bible passages, could capture the imagination and creative juices of Sandström and his commissioners in the year 2009 is something that deserves to be noted as well (and by the way, I find it especially remarkable that this Messiah commission was funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts—would that more churches would follow the NEA’s example in fostering such works!) Artists working at Sandström’s professional level are not obliged to take on a project of this scale out of want for opportunity. I’m sure the composer has turned down many a would-be commission for lack of space in his schedule. But whatever the demands and opportunities at hand, I’m just as sure he wouldn’t dive into a project of this magnitude if he weren’t genuinely inspired by the text.

I know next to nothing of Sandström’s religious beliefs, nor that of the commissioners of this project. And I think history would argue that what’s most important when it comes to creating a great work of sacred music is not necessarily the composer’s theological framework, but whether he/she has fully and honestly confronted and ingested the text, in this case Charles Jennens’ libretto celebrating the glory of Jesus Christ. But an anecdote from conductor Helmut Rilling yesterday at least tipped me off a bit to Sandström’s response to, if not his resonance with, the message of the Messiah texts. Apparently much of the choral writing in this piece is set in the upper registers of the voice. When Maestro Rilling asked Sandström why he wrote the piece this way, the composer responded, “When I think of God, I get so elated!” Amen, and may the music and words have the same effect on us all.

More thoughts to follow…

July 9, 2009 | Filed Under Sandström: Messiah, New Music | 2 Comments 

“Messiah” to be born in Oregon

This week I’m humbled by the privilege of enjoying the Oregon Bach Festival and witnessing the birth of composer Sven David Sandström’s new Messiah oratorio. Sandström’s new piece is the result of brave vision and sponsorship on the part of the Oregon Bach Festival and the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart. The world premiere will take place tomorrow evening at 7:30 p.m. at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts (click here for concert details). Here’s a sneak preview of the new oratorio from the festival’s YouTube channel:

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Reports and reflections to follow…

July 9, 2009 | Filed Under Sandström: Messiah, Videos, New Music | Leave a Comment