Immortal Bach, arranged by Knut Nystedt (b1915), is essentially a derivative work, based upon temporally prolonging and overlapping the successive chords of Bach’s chorale ‘Komm, süsser Tod’ (‘Come, sweet Death’). The device, at first glance, may strike one as an intellectual gimmick; but, as in other works on this disc, the result may be described as ‘theology expressed in sound’: Bach’s ‘immortality’ is symbolized by making his music literally ‘time-less’. In the process, his simple chorale setting is elevated into something far more profound, allowing us to catch a little glimpse, however fleeting, of eternity.
from notes by Vladimir Morosan © 1997
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