Performers at Mt. Angel Abbey faced challenges with the unique acoustics that impacted the experience of Bach's B Minor Mass, requiring quick adaptation and adjustment to the venue.
The last stanza of Spellman's 'Dear John Coltrane' poem engages with the concepts of heaven, music, and transcendent connections between Coltrane and Bach, evoking a sense of spiritual exploration.
Malcolm Bruno, a Welsh early-music specialist, reconstructed it in this century, and saw... a 'possibility of a dramatic production, hearkening back to the earliest of Lutheran traditions with the Biblical text spoken.'
"Our mission was aimed at extending the usefulness of the hall without changing it too much. We tried to do as little as we could by fixing as little as we could."