Event

Between 2020 and 2021, Sebastian Claren composed two major choral works for SCHOLA HEIDELBERG. Although they differ in sound and concept, both works are written for the same instrumentation—two sopranos, two altos, two tenors, and two basses—and share a common point of reference: the poetic and philosophical legacy of Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843), one of Germany’s most visionary writers, whose work is internationally renowned and highly regarded.

The first piece, “Der Adler", is based on three fragments from Hölderlin’s late hymn drafts. These texts, known for their expressive exuberance and syntactic breaks, were part of Hölderlin’s attempt to create a new poetic language through a form of epic song, but remained largely unfinished.

Sections that focus on the articulation of individual words and syllables, and fleeting tonal quotations from a 19th-century choral work by Conradin Kreutzer. These quotations, which come from a composer associated with the conservative Biedermeier period, are deliberately contrasted with Hölderlin’s radical poetics to reflect an ideological divide. In this way, “Der Adler” becomes both a sonic meditation on poetic fragmentation and a requiem for a historical era in which revolutionary artistic, philosophical, and political aspirations were once united.

The second piece, “bones stairs knife bells”, is inspired by “Hölderlin Hybrids,” a series of poems by the German-American author Rosmarie Waldrop, one of the most influential experimental poets writing in English today. In this cycle, Waldrop reinterprets Hölderlin’s poems from a perspective that is at once contemporary, feminist, and deeply personal. My composition reflects this hybrid approach: While it references the “Missa Mi-Mi”, a Mass setting by the Renaissance composer Johannes Ockeghem, the music transforms this historical material into a multi-layered dialogue between tradition and reinterpretation. In contrast to “Der Adler,” which incorporates spoken language throughout, “bones stairs knife bells” is sung in its entirety—though each section is introduced by a spoken text that sets the stage for the words that follow. This formal choice creates a clear shift between linguistic expression and musical realization, between speech and song.

Sebastian Claren, who was born in Mannheim and is now a professor of composition in Seoul, has collaborated with the intercultural philosopher and translator Sool Park on a project—funded in 2025 as a Seoul National University Research Grant—to describe the unique mediating role of music.

Their text, How (Not) to Tell a Story - Musik als Mittel, Erzählung in komplexer Dichtung sichtbar zu machen oder zu verbergen, serves both as a report on the research project as well as the secret program for this concert. ...