A great challenge – and not only for amateur choirs

Martin Dücker is unable to choose just a single “Favorite piece”, but he looked in the Freiburger Chorbuch for inspiration, a book which is dear to him (in the sense of valuable, worthy – the Latin word is carus). It is also suitable for that desert island … Piece no. 95 in the collection, “O Jesu, all mein Leben bist du” by Anton Heiller (1923–1979), lingers on the mind for a long time.

The melody (originally in the key of C minor, suitable for congregational singing), and the text (see the Gotteslob Catholic hymn book) were included in a hymn book compiled by A. G. Stein in Cologne in 1853. Contemporaries applauded the hymn’s “depth of feeling” .In 1938 G. Thurmair added a second verse to it.

In 1951 Heiller composed a choral setting (SATB) specially for an amateur choir. He chose the key of E minor, suited to a choir, and added a third verse by an unknown author, enabling him to create an effective dynamic range over the sequence of verses: the 1st verse is piano, the 2nd mezzoforte, and the 3rd pianissimo.
The key of E minor lifts the melody in the soprano into a comfortable tessitura, and draws the alto, tenor, and bass upwards towards the soprano.
The parts move independently with a logic which is easy to follow, always orientated towards the twists and turns of the cantus firmus, and creating a tender, floating sound completely effortlessly. In vocal terms, the lines are thoroughly enjoyable and comprehensible for amateur singers, and they can sing out in the cleverly-structured second verse, returning to pianissimo in the 3rd verse with extreme concentration.

A great challenge – and not only for amateur choirs.