Distler Conference

March 1, 2008
Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.

Conference Events

Plenary I:
"Hugo Distler: Man and Music, Life and Times," with Larry Palmer

Plenary II:
A brief introduction to Distler's "Totentanz," followed by a panel discussion of Distler's musical interpretation, responses to Nazism by Distler and Bonhoeffer, and political use of music for or against the state.

Workshops

Distler: Organ Music for Church and Home
Larry Palmer

An evaluation of influences, inspirations and instruments, with special emphasis on the Short Choral Preludes and the 30 Spielstuecke, and including a brief, rare bit from Distler's organ performances.

Hugo Distler's Germany and Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Confessing Church Response
Gary Simpson

Hugo Distler had a contemporary in Lutheran Pastor and Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who struggled to offer a Christian response to the great moral atrocity of the times. This workshop will address the social and political context that confronted these Christians.

Singing and Playing Distler's Music in a Small Congregational Setting
Kristina Langlois and Mary Kay Geston

Hugo Distler's music has particular relevance for churches with small choral and instrumental forces. In this workshop, singing and playing techniques for Distler's music will be described, and demonstrations of his organ and choral music for small forces will be presented. Suggestions for teaching Distler's choral music to amateur singers will also be offered.

Evening Prayer

The conference will conclude with a service of Evening Prayer, which will include Distler's "Totentanz" (Dance of Death). This work, written in 1934, was stimulated by the medieval Dance of Death Chapel at St. Mary's Church in Luebeck and by Angelus Silesius' Aphorisms which Distler knew through Leonard Lechner's settings.

Register today! Download the conference brochure (PDF) and registration form (PDF) and send in your registration by February 22.