“To contribute as a composer to a project like this is very scary,” said Williams, who set “Ich weiss ein Blümlein hübsch und fein,” via email. He said, “There was no point in trying to recreate Bach’s inventions, his counterpoint skills, or the theological profundity of his responses. Comparing the digital 21st century to Bach’s era suggested my reaction that reflected some (or lack thereof) of today’s values.”
Whitehead is less timid and has learned the implications of completing Bach effortlessly. “Once you take Orgelbüchlein out of the church setting, why not recreate the spirit in a worldly or joking way?” he said. “Nearly every piece adopts a musical style that Bach does not immediately recognize, so there is a sort of ‘from the beginning’ distance. in a project. “
For others, like composer Roxana Panufnik, who contributed to the setting of the melody “Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan” by Severus Gastrius, the project was an opportunity to bring her closer to Bach. “To me, he’s a master,” she said in an email. “His music always instills a sense that all is well in the world. I think his harmonious language is more romantic than romantic.”
Whitehead said: In a fairly common way, it’s a mood painting. Panufnik’s approach was to avoid close study of the text in favor of her own independent harmonies of the choir. This is one of her various responses to her desire to create what Whitehead described as “unity”.
It’s always been impossible to find emotional unity among over 100 composers, but contributors seem encouraged by that fact. “Anything that brings our wonderfully stylistically diverse community of composers together is a good thing,” Panufnik said, adding, “We all feel the need to collaborate more often on projects. I will,” he added.