Premiere City: Cape Town South Africa Premiere Venue: City Hall Premiere Date: 1986 Premiere Performer / Ensemble / Presenter: University Choir Stellenbosch; Acama Fick, Director; Loeb van Zuilenburg Jnr, Trumpet; Zorada Temmingh, Organ Premiere Conductor: Acama Fick
Afrikaans Program Notes: Hierdie motet was ‘n opdragwerk van Acama Fick in 1986 ter viering van die 50ste bestaanjaar van die Stellenbosch Universiteitskoor. Onder haar leiding. het die koor en instrumentaliste (Paul Loeb van Zuilenburg Jnr, Trompet; Zorada Temmingh, Orrel) ‘n uitmuntende weergawe van hierdie tegnies moeilike werk gelewer. ‘n Opname hiervan is in 1986 in ‘n langspeelplaat vrygestel (Digital Stereo LP Record of Stellenbosch University Choir, South Africa: EMIBrigadiers: USO 9, 1986) asook in ‘n laserskyf in 1997: Acama Fick in Konsert met Afrikaanse Koormusiek. 1997. Universiteitskoor Stellenbosch en Konservatorium-Dameskoor. Janus Musiek 57. Alhoewel beide die langspeelplaat en laserskyf nie meer verkrygbaar is nie, kan die vertolking gehoor word deur middel van ‘n webskakel op my webwerf jacobuskloppers.ca/ Sound Recordings. My Afrikaanse teks is ‘n vrye weergawe van Martin Luther se Ein Feste Burg, maar as ‘n uitgebreide metafoor van Luther se Middeleeuse “vesting/burg”-beeldspraak. In 2019 het ek die werk hersien en die oorspronklik maatlose, vry-metriese notasie verander in ‘n steeds vry-metriese formaat met wisselende maatsoorte (maar met ‘n konstante kwatnootpols) wat die uitvoering daarvan, veral direksie, sal vergemaklik. Die digitale omskepping van die manuskrip is ook vanjaar gedoen deur Dr. Diederick Basson vir verspreiding deur die Canadian Music Centre in Toronto. Dit kan ook geleen word by die Odeion School of Music Biblioteek, Universiteit van die Vrystaat, Bloemfontein, Suid-Afrika. ‘n Engelse weergawe van die werk, Motet for SATB: A Mighty Fortress is our God is ook beskikbaar by die Canadian Music Centre en by die OSM Biblioteek. My opregte dank aan Acama Fick en die Universiteit van Stellenbosch vir die opdrag en vir die koor se weergawe hiervan, asook aan Dr. Diederick Basson vir die digitale versorging van die werk. Jacobus Kloppers Edmonton, Alberta. Kanada 2019 English version: This work is an English version of my Afrikaans motet for choir, trumpet and organ ‘n Vaste Burg is onse God, commissioned by Acama Fick, director of the Stellenbosch University Choir, South Africa in celebration of the choir’s 50th anniversary in 1986. The choir, together with instrumentalists Paul Loeb van Zuilenburg Jnr (Trumpet) and Zorada Temmingh (Organ), gave a superb performance of this – quite challenging – work. A recording of the performance was used for a 1986 long-playing record Digital Stereo LP Record of Stellenbosch University Choir, South Africa: EMI-Brigadiers: USO 9, 1986 as well as for the 997 Compact Disc Acama Fick in Konsert met Afrikaanse Koormusiek. 1997. Universiteitskoor Stellenbosch en Konservatorium-Dameskoor. Janus Musiek 57. The LP and CD are now unavailable but the recording can be heard by means of a link on my webpage acobuskloppers.ca /Sound Recordings. Both the Afrikaans and English texts are freely based on Luther’s Ein Feste Burg but as an expanded metaphor of the Medieval fortress-image. This year I revised the work, changing the motet from a metrically-free and time signature-free score to one that retains the free metre but with changing time signatures in which the quarter note-value remains constant. This should make the score easier to read and conduct. Dr. Diederick Basson transcribed both Afrikaans and English revised versions of the 1986 manuscripts into digital format for distribution by the Canadian Music Centre in Toronto. These will also be for loan from the Library of the Odeion School of Music, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. y sincere thanks to Acama Fick and the University of Stellenbosch for the commission and the choir’s excellent rendering of the motet; also to Dr. Basson for the digital transcription of the manuscripts.