Schultz, Wolfgang-Andreas: Gethsemane

Motet for mixed choir

(Variations on a theme by Brahms)

This motet for mixed choir a cappella interweaves newly composed variations of Brahms' folksong In stiller Nacht with a musical setting of the Passion events from the New Testament, with the experience of the disciples staying at the garden of Gethsemane, to be precise. The musical action develops from homophonic, harmonic vocal setting and seemingly early church declamation of a chorale, with solo passages symbolizing Jesus lamenting in the presence of his sleeping disciples, to complex eight-part vocal texture. The character of a melancholy night watch remains decisive throughout.