for choir and jazz ensemble
- Label
- Indigo Records 1002 CD/MC, 1994
- Recorded
- 1994, 18 June
- Sound engineering
- Bernd Pick
15,– € incl. VAT, postage and packing
Tracks
- Psalm 33
- Psalm 139
- Psalm 131
- Vogelpredigt
- Psalm 42
- Jesaja 40 (Wer mißt das Meer mit der hohlen Hand?)
- Franziskuspsalm 7 (All ihr Völker, klatscht in die Hände)
- Come Sunday (Duke Ellington)
- Psalm 118
- Der Sonnengesang des Franziskus
To listen to: Psalm 139, Psalm 131, Vogelpredigt, Jesaja 40 and Psalm 118
Line-up
- Axel Dörner tp
- Bruno Leicht tp
- Stefan Döring as, ss, fl
- Matthias Petzold ts, cl, cello
- Frank Gratkowski bcl
- Joachim Petzold tb
- Gregor Lindemann bass
- Jochen Rückert dr
- Kirchenchor an St. Margareta in Brühl
- Jugendchor Die Wellenbrecher
- Michael Koll director
About the compositions:
With his “Psalmen und Lobgesänge” (Psalms and Songs of Praise) for choir and jazz ensemble, the saxophonist and jazz composer Matthias Petzold takes an unusual path: he seeks a connection between contemporary jazz and Christian spirituality. In fact, at least in Europe, there are at present almost no points of contact between the two. What goes by the name of “jazz mass” in church music usually belongs musically to the realm of pop, and is thus to be seen more as a concession to the young generation than as a means of artistic expression …
The texts express the personal relationship between human beings and God – trust, a sense of being safe and at home, but also questions, doubt, abandonment. The seriousness with which these texts are set to music is moving, and shows that this is not just any libretto put underneath the choir: Petzold wants to take a stand and make a statement.
In turning away from ‘l’art pour l’art’, as already foreshadowed in some of his earlier compositions, Petzold clearly sets himself apart from the contemporary understanding of art. What matters to him is that his music should have an effect on the way people live together.
The interplay between text and music, and the work with the choir that results from it, are the real musical challenge of this project. Matthias Petzold deliberately looked for points of contact with traditional church music. In the formal design of the pieces and the interpretation of the texts, for example, he takes his bearings from Palestrina motets, Bach oratorios and Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms. In the vocal melodies there are influences from hymns and Gregorian chant (which, interestingly, are not so far removed from some of the pentatonic passages in Coltrane or Ellington). Even so, the choral passages too are unmistakably jazz. You can tell from the harmonic progressions, the writing for the voices and above all the rhythm …
The result is a cycle conceived as a whole from the outset. The texts are arranged in a kind of arc that leads from a childlike, trusting rest in God, through the painful experience of uncertainty and doubt, to the praise and thanksgiving of all creation …
(from the booklet notes by Christina Koblitz)
Press
“Petzold did indeed achieve a brilliant fusion of the two worlds (jazz and the Psalms – ed.) by musical means … The choir showed itself with a beautiful tone, and the personal commitment and joy in the music of its singers were plain to see. The jazz ensemble was outstanding too, with such renowned musicians as Frank Gratkowski and Jochen Rückert making their mark and contributing decisively to the success of the evening.”
Kölner Stadtanzeiger on the premiere
“The handling of the instrumental writing is extremely colourful and lively, and the choral settings are varied. With this cycle Matthias Petzold has succeeded in forging a valid bond, one that speaks for itself, between ‘his’ jazz and the relationship between man and God so clearly expressed in the Psalms.”
Kirchenmusikalische Mitteilungen of the Diocese of Stuttgart
“The joy and the grooving music reach the listener at once; the contemplative texts are embedded in exciting improvisations … – a delightful idea.”
Jazzpodium