Today the biggest pop stars in the world are women. Beyoncé, of course, and above all Taylor Swift, Adele, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus and, in Germany, Shirin David and Helene Fischer. They don’t just inspire the masses musically with their songs; they also influence politics and society. Why is it so different in the world of classical music and so-called high culture?
To mark the new publication “Swiss Choral Music” we interviewed the two editors, Johannes Meister and Patrick Secchiari. Which piece is particularly funny? And do they have a favourite piece? Johannes Meister and Patrick Secchiari answer these questions and many more in the interview.
Although George Frideric Handel was born in 1685 in Halle an der Saale, he is now admired above all as an English composer. But he was a cosmopolitan. He travelled with enthusiasm throughout Europe and lived in several different cities. In 1710, he moved to London. Here he devoted himself first and foremost to studying the English language, music, and culture – but he also composed constantly and very successfully. But read for yourself!
How does an opera chorus perform? From memory of course! And for oratorio choirs, this experience alone can be an amazing one with the right preparation. Our favorite choir collection author Sabine Layer thinks that the “Great Opera Choruses” are exactly the right books to give every choir such an experience.
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.
As a singer, Jan Schumacher was involved in recording the accompanying CD for the choral collection Lore-Ley what is now almost 15 years ago. The arrangements of German folk songs made a deep impression on him back then. Now the choral collection for four-part mixed chorus has become a constant companion for him in rehearsals and concerts. The conductor explains what’s special for him about this collection, and shares his personal program ideas with us – which may provide inspiration for your own concerts!
Mendelssohn tried to put the romantic idea of letting choral songs sound outdoors into practice more than once. In a letter dated July 3, 1839, he described how he had sung with a choir deep in the forest. “How lovely the song sounded, how clearly the sopranos trilled in the air, and what a glow and charm enveloped all the pitches, everything so quiet and furtive and yet so clear – that I couldn’t have imagined … it was magical in the forest solitude, so that tears almost came to my eyes. It sounded like pure poetry.” Learn more about the still little known choral songs of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in this article by Mendelssohn expert R. Larry Todd.
Martin Dücker is unable to choose just a single “Favorite piece”, but he looked in the “Freiburger Chorbuch” for inspiration, a book which is dear to him (in the sense of valuable, worthy – the Latin word is carus). It is also suitable for that desert island … Piece no. 95 in the collection, “O Jesu, all mein Leben bist du” by Anton Heiller (1923–1979), lingers on the mind for a long time.
The “Moonlight Sonata” sung as a “Kyrie”, the slow movement from Beethoven’s 7th Symphony as a “Persian Nocturne” for choir – these vocal interpretations of Beethoven’s instrumental works may surprise you, but they will also convince. A tradition of arranging, incidentally, which was already well-established in Beethoven’s time. And every now and then, these arrangements for choir also reveal aspects of the compositions which were previously hidden.
When George Frideric Handel crossed the English Channel the first time in 1710, London was enjoying a huge economic upturn. The building boom altered the cityscape of the second largest city in Europe, with almost 630,000 inhabitants, the financial market grew and experienced the first stockmarket crash, the social contrasts were stark, but a simple musician such as Handel could die a rich man. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of today’s metropolis, we can still set out on a walk in the footsteps of Handel.
