missa empathica

The missa empathica was commissioned by the Wädenswil church and oratorio choir and its conductor Felix Schudel to mark the choir's 125th anniversary. It is dedicated to the conductor, the choir and our time.

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Inspiration from the conductor

After an inspiring conversation with the conductor, the idea finally matured to set three of the most important texts in French, German and English on the subject of tolerance to music. These three settings are integrated into the Latin Ordinarium missae.

Birthplace of Music: The Fair

Parts of the Mass have been set to music for almost 2000 years, and the entire Ordinary has been set to music for almost 700 years. In addition to its spiritual significance, the Ordinarium missae also functioned for more than a thousand years as a vehicle in which Western European music was able to develop so magnificently. What fascinates me about the Ordinary is not only the beauty of the Latin language and the deep faith, but also the musical structure.

Three texts about tolerance in three languages

A French, a German and an English text are set to music between these liturgical parts. This, too, has a long tradition, because variable parts of the proprium are also set to music between the fixed sections of the ordinarium. All three texts stand for tolerance and have themselves become part of intellectual history.

Voltaire's thunderbolt

The oldest text comes from Voltaire. He wrote it in 1763 and called it Traité sur la Tolérance. In it he defends himself against a horrible judicial murder in southern France, when a Huguenot was publicly tortured to death solely because of his faith. This writing made waves all over the world and is central to the Enlightenment of the 18th century. It ends with the prayer Prière à Dieu, set to music here. The soprano sings along with the alto, softly shaded by the choir and parts of the orchestra. The year 1763 serves as a code for the underlying rhythm that is woven through this movement like a mantra.

The Ring Parabola

The German text comes from the drama Nathan the Wise by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and forms the heart of the Parable of the Ring, where Nathan explains the essence of tolerance to the Sultan. Nathan symbolizes Moses Mendelssohn. The grandfather of the famous composer Felix Mendelssohn was an important figure in the German Enlightenment. The tenor stands for the sultan, the bass embodies Nathan. Important in this movement are the standing tension or conflict sounds, which are repeatedly resolved by the ascending and descending bass voice. Finally, the chorus sings the insight of the sultan, quasi depersonalized and enraptured.

lived dream

Nowadays  the best known is the legendary speech on tolerance that Martin Luther King gave in Washington 50 years ago. The rhetorical highlight of the century gains a pull that no one can escape from the ever more frequently repeated I have a dream. Remotely alluding to a rap, this rhythmically dominated sixth part of the missa empathica is sung by the tenor in antiphonal interplay with the choir. The orchestra, especially the piano, forms the pulsating background.

ending in silence

The seven-part work then ends as a sung mantra; the Agnus Dei is accompanied by a gently flowing harmony into the stillness.