Work of the Week - Dieter Schnebel: "behütet..." - Psalm 121
The Salzburg Biennale celebrates its second anniversary this year with four weekends in March dedicated to composers. The third of these weekends, March 18th through March 20th, is dedicated to Dieter Schnebel. On March 19th in Salzburg’s Christuskirche, the Schola Heidelberg choir, conducted by Walter Nussbaum, will perform the world premiere of Dieter Schnebel’s “behütet...”—Psalm 121.
In the Catholic tradition, Psalm 121 is a song of pilgrimage used to bless travelers. More generally, in Christian tradition it is also used for funerals in the context of death and travelling between worlds. The psalm has been set to music several times, most notably by Felix Mendelssoh-Bartholdy in his Hebe deine Augen auf, from Elias.
The Psalm begins with an anxious gaze from the earth to the mountains, which rise threateningly in front of a hiker. Gradually, the hiker gains more and more confidence. The musical implementation creates this with sounds of depth and fear, which are gradually interspersed with clearer, more secure tones. It really is a song of confidence and the salutation of the alpine countries. "Behüo God" or "Büätdi" could be the motto of this work. (Dieter Schnebel)
The following week, on March 27th, the Symphony Orchestra of the Mozarteum University will perform the Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, Nobody knows de trouble I see by Bernd Alois Zimmerman. The orchestra will be conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer, and the soloist is William Forman.
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