Frieder Bernius’ very first radio recording and his second LP recording in the mid-1970s were devoted to Mendelssohn’s works. So he was as enthusiastic about the idea of a complete recording as he is gripped by almost every measure of this composer’s work.
The Slovenian composer Katarina Pustinek Rakar (b. 1979) studied music theory, oboe, singing, and composition in Ljubljana. She is actively involved with the best Slovenian choirs, is a member of the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir, and teaches sol-fa and music theory at the Ljubljana Conservatory. Her compositions comprise mainly vocal music (children’s songs, works for youth, women’s, male voice, and mixed choirs), and she is regularly commissioned to write for these groups.
Rocking a child to sleep and singing a calming song is probably one of the most natural forms of music-making of all. And the song of thanks after the day’s work is done, combined with the plea for a peaceful night has had its established place in evening worship for centuries. With a touch of nostalgia, choral director Tristan Meister is now thinking back to many lovely concerts which ended with Rheinberger’s Abendlied, a piece which for him is one of the most touching choral works of the Romantic period. So the hope is all the greater that we might soon be given the green light to sing this wonderful music together again.
Brahms’s Deutsches Requiem (German Requiem): you only need to mention this work, and many choral singers spontaneously sigh with pleasure. It is one of those works in the magnificent canon of choral literature which everyone wants to sing at some point. At least once. But what about the many short, choral-symphonic works by Brahms, for example the Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny) or Nänie? These pieces are no less magnificent, but they present choral directors with the challenge of how to find suitable works to program with them. Tobias Brommann, Choral director at Berlin Cathedral, gives some tips.
