© Joost Claerhoudt Couleur Vocale: Kamerkoor NEXT
Amsterdam, De Waalse Kerk
About the Event
In Gishera (գիշեր: night), Chamber Choir NEXT, together with doily and kaval player Raphaela Danksagmüller, embarks on a journey through a musical night with music from Armenia and the Netherlands. The mysterious sounds of the traditional doed cloth carry through a moonlit landscape of misty mountains and monasteries on azure lakes. The music in the program is inspired by the rich, sometimes tragic history of this extraordinary country, once reaching from the Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea. For example, sections from Ars Poetica, a monumental choral work by Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian, are interspersed with works for choir, dulcimer and kaval. In addition to arrangements of traditional Armenian folk music, works composed by Froukje Verhagen, Gerard Beljon and others will also be heard. Chamber choir NEXT thus brings an introduction to new works and soundscapes not often heard in the Dutch music world.
Chamber Choir NEXT is a choir with young, ambitious singers who make music together at a high level. The group was founded in 2015 and is still led by permanent conductor Fokko Oldenhuis. The choir performs varied and challenging programs of diverse music in its hometown of Utrecht and beyond. For this, NEXT regularly collaborates with professional musicians and contemporary composers, but also with artists from other disciplines, such as dancers and writers. In season 2023/2024 the choir shared the stage with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra for performances of Verdi's Quattro pezzi sacri conducted by Lorenzo Viotti. Previous projects of Chamber Choir NEXT include a concert series with Jan Terlouw, a crossover concert with dancer duo Youri & Marie and a concert in a quiz format around the celebration of 900 years of city rights for Utrecht. The choir was part of an international choir festival in Croatia and the Festival Nieuwe Muziek in Utrecht, has been a guest of Podium Witteman and can be heard on Radio 1 and Radio 4.
Program
Tigran Mansurian parts from Ars Poetica (Dutch premiere)
Froukje Verhagen Does the rain have a father (choir and doed cloth) (world premiere)
Nils Lindberg Vocalise (choir and kaval)
Gerard Beljon Planctus Cygni (choir and doed cloth)
Giel Vleggelaar Dulcinea (doed cloth and kaval)
Armenian folk songs for choir and doed cloth (arr. Ines Leijen)
Practical Information
The Bösendorfer Series is a series of intimate piano recitals in which nine top pianists shine behind our Bösendorfer Imperial Grand grand piano. The Bösendorfer Series is made possible in part by Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam.
Cast / Production
Chamber Choir NEXT
Raphaela Danksagmüller kaval and duduk
Fokko Oldenhuis conductor
Address
De Waalse Kerk, Walenpleintje 159, Amsterdam, Netherlands — Google Maps
