Commissioned Choral Work

This 40th anniversary year, the LSM Choir has the honor of premiering the piece “The Lily and the Bird,” composed by LSM’s composer-in-residence Dr. Benjamin Krause and commissioned by the David Krause family. The work will be performed at the Festival Choir Concert on Friday, July 22 at 7pm CDT.

Ben is LSM’s composer-in-residence. And although on sabbatical this year, he also typically teaches the composition elective at LSM as well as one-on-one private composition lessons, which culminate in the Fresh Ink concert of new student pieces by the end of the four-week session. Additionally, Ben coordinates and instructs in the musicianship area. “Lily and the Bird” is the second piece he’s written specifically for LSM—the first was also for choir, in Summer 2021. He has also had other pieces performed in faculty recitals in previous summers. 

Describing the newly commissioned piece, Ben says:

"The Lily and the Bird," as the title suggests, is based largely on Christ's words in Matthew and Luke: "Behold the birds of the air…consider the lilies of the field…". These lines formed the basis of the piece, in which I also draw upon texts from Kierkegaard (his own reflections on "the lily and the bird"), the German Lutheran theologian/pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Medieval Christian mystic Hildegard von Bingen. I assembled each of these text excerpts into one overall poetic structure, hoping to create a web of meaning that begins with Christ's words as a point of departure, then moves into Kierkegaard's own interpretation of these words, with Bonhoeffer and Hildegard as interpolations that echo some of the main themes. I don't want to comment too specifically on the meaning here, as I feel it arises somewhat poetically and spiritually in the interconnections between these sources, in a way that I hope illuminates the Lutheran heritage in its value of individual human worth and dignity, and the immediacy of the relationship between us and God.

The work is scored for mixed choir, oboe, and string quartet, which is somewhat a nod to the cantata tradition of Bach. Musically, there's another Lutheran allusion - the oboe, near the end of the piece, quotes the German chorale "Aus tiefer Not schrei zu dir” (“From Depths of Woe, I Cry to Thee”), where it appears to complete the foreshadowing of various themes used up until that point. In other words, this chorale tune is hinted at throughout the piece but doesn't emerge until the end. Otherwise, my main musical concern is to have the music embody, mirror, and amplify the meaning of the text throughout, so that the music itself becomes my own interpretation of the text's meaning. "Peace" and "joy" are two prominent themes throughout, and each gets its own associated music.

LSM’s choral director, Dr. Nancy Menk, adds:

In my three years at LSM, this is our second commissioned work. Last year we sang a shorter, a cappella work, also by Benjamin Krause. It's going to be fun this year to sing another piece of his that is more extended...it's about eight minutes, and is accompanied by string quartet and oboe. It's a beautiful piece, and the choir is excited about giving another world premiere. I'd really love it if LSM could continue this practice of commissioning new works—maybe one per year, for various voices, alone or combined.

The LSM community is grateful for the generous donation from the David Krause family for making this new work a reality. Long-time supporters of LSM, David Krause comments:

It is a joy for our family to demonstrate our thanks for the ministry of Lutheran Summer Music over the past 40 years. I have served as a consultant to LSM and as board member and chair over the last few years. My daughter Jeanine began her LSM journey as a student in 1989. She is a professional musician and is currently serving on the LSM Advisory Council. My son Paul also attended LSM as a violin player.

Music has bound our family together. LSM has been a joyful rallying point for us through the years and certainly is today!

And a fun surprise to note, Ben and David’s family recently learned that they in fact are related! Says Jeanine Krause:

Yes! We are related! Ben and I have the same great-grandfather. That great-grandfather had seven sons. Our grandfathers were brothers, son number six was my grandfather, and son number seven Ben‘s. 

Dad and I did not know Ben until the summer Ben was hired to teach composition at LSM. Dad was chair of the board and a few of the staff or faculty thought it was interesting that both men pronounced their last names in two syllables. A short conversation revealed all. 

All of this confirmed a theory I have that in my family the generations rotate from teacher, pastor, and musician. Maybe not always in the same order. Ben and I are holding up the musician part. 

To learn more about the composer Dr. Benjamin Krause, visit here. To hear a sneak peek of the piece, visit here.