| Bruder Martin | |
|---|---|
| Oratorio byThomas Gabriel | |
| Text | Eugen Eckert |
| Language | German |
| Based on | Life ofMartin Luther |
| Performed | 17 September 2017 (2017-09-17) |
| Published | 2017 Strube Verlag |
Bruder Martin is anoratorio composed byThomas Gabriel to alibretto in German byEugen Eckert. The work in seven scenes and a prologue is based on the life ofMartin Luther. It was written for the 500th anniversary of theReformation in 2017. The composition is set for narrator, soloists, mixed choir, band and orchestra, and includes bothLuther hymns andpop ballads.Bruder Martin was premiered open air in Tecklenburg on 17 September 2017, with the performers dressed in period costumes. It was published by Strube Verlag.
The oratorioBruder Martin was commissioned in 2014 for the regionalKirchentag of the districts Tecklenburg, Steinfurt-Coesfeld-Borken and Münster of the Protestant Church, to celebrate 500 years afterReformation, in 2017.[1] The team of the Protestant pastorEugen Eckert for the text and the Catholic church musicianThomas Gabriel for the music, who had collaborated on oratorios before, began in November 2014 to realize the ecumenical project.[1]
The preparations and rehearsals of many groups including lay singers took more than a year, culminating in two rehearsals for the complete cast. The premiere was performed on 17 September 2017 on the open-air stage at a castle ruin inTecklenburg,[2] which seats 2,300 people. Both authors attended the performance. The premiere was conducted byKirchenmusikdirektor Martin Ufermann fromWesterkappeln. The narrator wasAlfred Buß [de], formerlyPräses of theEvangelische Kirche von Westfalen. The choir was formed by around 300 singers. The performers were dressed in costumes of the Reformation period which some made themselves.[2]
Two more performances were held at the Stadtkirche Westerkappeln, with 180 choir singers of Junger Chor and Kantorei from Westerkappeln and the Ki-Pop-Chor fromMettingen, the Orchester Musica Viva fromIbbenbüren and the Luther-Rockband.[3]
Bruder Martin was played again inSeligenstadt in October 2017.[4] The oratorio was published by Strube Verlag.[1]
Bruder Martin is structured in seven scenes and a prologue.[2] Episodes from the life ofMartin Luther are presented in chronological order, with a focus on his intention to reform the church, not to split it. The scenes deal with his hopes, doubt and conflicts, and both his supporters and adversaries appear.[2] The composition is set for a narrator, 23 soloists, mixed choir, a band, and an orchestra.[1] The music includes stanzas fromLuther's hymns,pop ballads,rap, and "groovy" choral scenes.[2] A performance takes about two and a half hours.[2]