The Beauty and Inspiration of Sacred Music: An Interview with Composer Matej Kastelic

“This is the reason to keep observing my own thoughts and feelings, to deepen my mind so that I can see the world clearly from my unique perspective. I believe in God; it is already in me so that I can express the best version of myself.”

The central part of Mesa, originally created as an independent opus Credo, VAK Latvia has recorded on his new CD Credowhich has just been released by a British music label Hyperion Records. The work of the young Slovenian composer is included alongside the works of 20th century great masters Richard Strauss, Olivier Messiaen and Sven David Sandström.

“Five years ago, I was the chairman of the jury at a conductor’s competition in Slovenia. It is very difficult to surprise me with new music in such a way that I am ready to die because of its beauty, and such a miracle was presented then by the choir of the Slovenian Academy of Music, which performed Matej Kastelic’s work Credo,” said conductor Māris The gray one. We met the composer in a short conversation.

It is said that you compose your works in a monastery cell?

Yes, ten years already. It is a large monastery in a small country town in Stichna, only 300 meters from my native home. There is a small organ, a piano and excellent acoustics. I have not lived in a monastery. In my early youth I conducted two choirs there for free and I am still allowed to compose there. I don’t come from a musical family. I started learning music when I sang in the local church choir with my mother as a child. It was a good decision because music opens the door to a wider culture. When composing now, I “put everything on the table”: text, history, sacred rituals, history of musical traditions (eg, Gregorian chants).

I started learning the piano only at the age of 13. I was fascinated by the organ, but I only played by heart because I didn’t know the notes yet. Only then did I enter a music school, studying music theory, then choral singing, piano and composition. I am still a concertmaster in classical ballet and contemporary dance classes, I teach theoretical subjects at the conservatory.

I wrote my first composition about ten years ago, and it was for a choir. I don’t write instrumental music. I love the human voice, the instrument in the human body, and the closest thing to me is the tradition of church music. Credo, which Māris Sirmais ordered the mass after listening to, I had written for pedagogical purposes, for the training of young conductors. By the way, mine Credo playing in some churches is forbidden because its text contradicts the unconditional canonical affirmation “I believe!” instead of permission to ask: do you really believe? This piece lives in concert halls, but my goal is to reach people in the church. Unfortunately, our Orthodox Catholic Church is very conservative. If you smile during the service, it will not be OK.

Does a composer of sacred music have to be religious himself?

It is best if the composer grew up in the Christian tradition, is a believer, but also has questions. Messiaen was a deeply religious composer. The lives of Sergei Rachmaninov, Alfred Schnittke and Arvo Pert can also be described as very sacred. It is very important to understand the sacred texts, otherwise you will be a stranger. Doubts are natural: why do people in Slovenia, Norway or Latvia have to believe not in their pagan, nature-related gods, but in Jesus Christ, who was born in Israel, thousands of kilometers away, more than two thousand years ago? My grandmother in the countryside still believes in gods of sun and rain, and the conclusion of my mass Ite, Missa is means: the mass is over, and everyone can go their own way.

2023-09-05 06:11:12
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