Current clients March '08 •  Music of the Baroque, Chicago  •  Bach Society of St. Louis  •  Univ. Music Society, Ann Arbor

David Gordon Supertitles
elegant words for heart and mind...

Tech Info       Available Titles       Mission Statement       Lecture CDs

Sample Page       Photo of Supertitles in Action

My goal in creating fresh, new supertitles is not only to present a true sense of the words but also to convey the meaning of the musical works themselves and the intentions of the composers.

Good supertitles are not a literal word-for-word translation. They should invite the audience into the experience of listening, allowing them to quiet their minds and open their hearts, making them more susceptible to the power of the music.

Nothing should jar the senses, or distract the listeners from their connection to and engagement with the music.

Here's a photo of supertitles in action

Although I work with the music of many composers, I especially enjoy creating supertitles for the music of Bach.

Drawing on decades of experience as Bach Evangelist, lecturer, and translator, I create supertitles that are lovingly and carefully distilled to the musical, linguistic, and theological essence of the original German.

Please read my mission statement here.

My supertitles are PowerPoint presentations, compatible with Macs or PCs.

Each rental includes a clearly labeled cueing score.
Here's a quote from the Monterey Herald about my "St. Matthew Passion" supertitles for the 2007 Carmel Bach Festival.

This performance of the great Bach masterpiece is further served by new supertitles created by festival Education Director David Gordon, who has spent the last 37 years performing and studying the Passion. What [conductor Bruno] Weil has achieved with the musical elements, Gordon accomplishes with the text, reducing the supertitles to their purest form in clear, elegant language.

So often with this work, we must fight with archaic phrasing from the original German and clunky translations that distance us from the full Passion experience.

For example, a recent recording of the Matthew Passion gives the English translation of one line as: 'Who has treated Thine eyes' light that no light else can equal, so shamefully amiss.'

In Gordon's lucid translation this becomes,
'And those eyes ... eyes once bright beyond compare, why have they grown so dim?'"

Barbara Rose Shuler
Monterey Herald, July 20, 2007
Want to see how these slides look on your projection screen?
Download a short (15 slide) PowerPoint sample presentation!

Send email to David             phone:  831/238.2934             David Gordon Website

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