„Oh, du stille Zeit“ – Christmas Magic with Choir and Overtone Singing

In this special Christmas video, I invite you to discover a fascinating excerpt from Jan Heinke’s unique arrangement of “Oh, du stille Zeit”. The piece, performed by the renowned professional ensemble AuditivVokal Dresden under the direction of Olaf Katzer, is a real gem of sound – and I, Wolfgang Saus, had the pleasure of being part of this project as overtone soloist.

What makes this piece so extraordinary are the shimmering overtones that lend the music a spherical depth and create an almost enraptured atmosphere. The polyphonic overtone arrangement is particularly remarkable: fundamental and overtone melodies move independently in different directions. This technique, the highest art of Western overtone singing, requires not only vocal precision, but also masterful control over the resonances of the vocal tract.

Staves for the Magic of Polyphonic Overtone Singing

Here is a small excerpt from the score. It will show you the fascinating structure and magic behind the tone setting. Polyphonic overtone singing is written differently by composers.

Jan Heinke wrote the overtones of all the voices as a separate group of instruments in an accolade, which is an advantage for conductors because they form a sound group. However, in my experience and many experiments, it is much easier for singers to read if the overtone and fundamental parts are written as a two-line accolade, with the overtones at the top and the fundamental part at the bottom.

The indication of partial tone numbers replaces microtonal accidentals, which would again complicate the reading. Overtone singers “know” that a 7th harmonic is to be sung 31 cents lower and a 5th harmonic 14 cents lower.

Through the Darkness with the Power of Music

At the time of the performance in 2023, however, my life was not free of challenges: I only had less than 10% vision left, which made any kind of work and especially reading music a huge strain. Since June 2024, my sight has been fully restored thanks to successful surgeries. But it was precisely during this difficult phase that the music and the fantastic collaboration with the ensemble – which I was also able to teach overtone singing at a professional level during this time – gave me endless strength and confidence. Many thanks to Olaf Katzer and AuditivVokal!

I hope you enjoy listening, marveling and discovering – and perhaps you will feel a little of the quiet beauty of this special composition yourself!