An Interview with Composer, Stuart Beatch

Photo by Nanc Price Photography

Stuart Beatch views himself as a newcomer to choral music. Previously completing a Music Education degree at the University of Regina in 2013 and a Bachelor of Music in Composition at the University of Alberta in 2015, this is his third year writing choral music. This Fall, he is headed to Kings College London for Graduate studies in composition.

Last week, Beatch's newest work, Resurectio, was commissioned by Michael Zaugg and premiered by the National Youth Choir of Canada at Podium Conference and Festival. When Beatch describes his compositional voice he notes:

“It's something I've tried to figure out for a while. I think I'm definitely influenced by a lot of sacred music. I've listened to a lot of minimalist music as well with people l like Arvo Pärt or John Tavener. Even more energetic composers like John Adams who doesn't necessarily do a lot of choral music; he does more orchestral music. But trying to then write music that has that certain energetic quality that has that certain religiosity to it. I do write very dense homophonic things but thinking of it as this one unified entity. One project that I did to push myself in that direction was I composed a book of SATB Anglican chants. I wrote these for a year. It forces you to boil down your harmonic ideas; how to make things that are interesting and unique but are also very simple. In the case of those chants, they're also not rhythmic so you're just composing the harmonies. Really trying to take everything else out of the formula and find out what I want to say just in that realm. That was a big challenge for me. I think that has definitely influenced a lot of my music since then, trying to simplify and find that sense of purity.”


During Beatch’s time completing this BMus in Composition while in Edmonton, he also sang for the All Saints Anglican Cathedral for two years. Beatch elaborates, “we were doing works by Byrd and lots of classic Anglican composers there were many times. Herbert Howells does not write easy music. And we had one of my own pieces performed by that choir too. It's not that choirs are not capable but we need to be writing music that is appropriate for that space too. As contemporary composers, we like writing secular works because they're more approachable for all sorts of choirs but also finding those simple, sacred works, that would be used in a space like that is very rewarding.”


He notes that he did not used to write a lot of sacred music until he started being involved in the Anglican Church. “At that point, I found sacred music began to be the most rewarding for me both spiritually and as a composer. I found I have the most to say in that space,” he reveals. Beatch had a significant choral debut when the National Youth Choir of Canada sang the premiere of Resurectio. Beatch describes how he searched for texts documenting Christs Ascension and used a hybrid of Latin and English text by John Donne. “In a way, I like to take back some of that control as librettist, and combine words in a way I think is more interesting and make the piece about some sort of theme,” describes Beatch when discussing Resurectio’s text.

Photo of the National Youth Choir of Canada 2016 by Nanc Price Photography

In the future, Beatch reveals that he would like to write a large scale a capella choral work. He saw a change in 2012 when Bob Chilcott premiered a large oratorio at the BBC Proms; it as a moment where there was a “pushing back against the orchestra as the de facto of what composers need to do.” Beatch describes how choirs are capable of taking on these larger scale of works and his wish to “contribute to that collection of literature.” Beatch continues, “we're starting to realize the potential of choral music and also the level that professionals are able to perform at and the kind of things they can do. As composers, we're just now trying to exploit that a little bit,” he says with a tone of wisdom. Regardless of what is coming for Beatch as he heads to London this Fall, his compositional voice of writing for sacred choral texts in modern spaces is one to listen for.

Listen to the entire interview with Beatch here:


Stuart Beatch's travel to Podium was made possible by support from the Saskatchewan Arts Board.