No New Apostolic Pentecost gathering has ever seen a concert like this before: the New Apostolic Church Western Germany, who hosted the event, struck a new chord with a combination of music and light, words and movement.
The final strains of the overture to Felix Mendelssohn’s oratorio St Paul have just faded away. The concert hall in Wiesbaden is dark as a female voice speaks about despair. Tatjana Augustin, managing director of the aid agency NAK-karitativ, talks about some the things she has seen.
Excerpts with extras
The oratorio from the 1830s tells the story of a radical transformation: that of Apostle Paul. “From persecutor to proclaimer, from doubt to conviction, from darkness to light,” is the explanation of the organisers.
And the concert, under the motto “By his Spirit – changed to change” tells the story in its own special way: excerpts from the sacred work, which usually lasts almost three hours, are interspersed with contemporary references. The video intro on the despair found in today’s world is only a prelude.
Between praise and sorrow
Aerial drone footage of nature scenes accompany the choir as it sings the opening chorus of the oratorio: “Lord, Thou alone art God, and Thine are the heavens, the earth, and mighty waters,” the choir sings, reciting the prayer of the Christian congregation from Acts 4.
“Stone him to death! Stone him to death! He blasphemes God.” The multimedia oratorio has reached the stoning of Stephen. A video shows the retired District Apostle Armin Brinkmann. He talks about the willingness to make sacrifices and recounts the early days of the New Apostolic Church in Angola and how the local pioneer, Apostle Sukami Landu Ronsard, was shot dead.
Sensitivity and powerful sound
“Jerusalem! Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, thou that stonest them which are sent unto thee!” has just been sung by soloist Hanna Ramminger (soprano). Florian Conze-Zahe (bass) will still perform “O God, have mercy upon me, and blot out my transgressions according to Thy loving kindness.” Both demonstrate why they are also at home on the opera stage.
And in between: “Rise up! Arise! Rise and shine! For thy light comes!” The Concert Choir of Southern Hesse, reinforced by members of the chamber choirs of Central and Northern Hesse, proves its excellence. The vocalists are not merely supported but carried along by the Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra of Southern Hesse.
And Burkhard A. Schmitt, the man with the baton, is in control of the myriad things that happen on the podium.
Changed to change
“Bless thou the Lord, O my soul, and all within me bless his most holy name,” it says in the closing chorus. A fascinated audience has been transported into the centre of the light. And knows what to do. Because the last clips show a man helping the homeless and a young woman tutoring in a homework club. They send a clear message: no matter how small, everyone carries within them a light that can shine.
However, the evening does not end with dramatic pomp or a laser spectacle, but with a touching and simple evening prayer by Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, his Abendlied: “Stay with us, for quickly falls the evening, and the day is past and over.” This has been an evening that has sparked introspection.
Photos: Simon Kisselbach
