Soundcloud
Performances
Premiered by Jonas Aumiller Mixon Hall, Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland, OH December 10 2021
Other Performances
- Performed by Jonas Aumiller, Kulas Hall, Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland, OH April 29 2024
Video
Program Notes
… Sondern nach dem Geist is inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach’s motet “Jesu, meine Freude,” BWV 227, specifically the profound message at the end of its second movement. This piece of music holds a special place in my heart as it was the first of Bach’s Chorales I discovered when I was first introduced to Western Classical music around the age of thirteen or fourteen.
Original text in German
Es ist nun nichts Verdammliches an denen, die in Christo Jesu sind, die nicht nach dem Fleische wandeln, sondern nach dem Geist.
English translation
There is now no condemnation in them who are in Christ and who walk not according to the flesh but according to the spirit.
This passage echoes Romans 8:1 from the Bible: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” To me, this quote evokes Matthew 26:41, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
The phrase “sondern nach dem Geist,” when isolated, translates to “separate according to the soul”—thus, my title recontextualizes this evocative phrase.
… Sondern nach dem Geist is dedicated to Jonas Aumiller. I am immensely grateful for his friendship and inspiration, as well as for his role in premiering this piece.