Together with soloists Florian Müller (harpsichord), Katrien Baerts (soprano) and Annika Schlicht (mezzo-soprano) and under the baton of Elena Schwarz and Ivan Volkov the sanctuary of the Kollegienkriche shone in the sound of eternal light.
The programme not only emphasized the strengths of the ensemble's core repertoire. There was also the unique opportunity to hear selected Number Pieces by John Cage alongside his film One¹¹ -- in the presence of Henning Lohner, who produced and directed the film shortly before Cage's death.
"The harmonies appeared like shadows falling on the flow of the voice, at times pleading and whispering, which would have also given Jedermann troubling pause."
Thus, Der Standard summarized our performance of Gérard Grisey's Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil, a meditation on death, expressed in spectral music, its strong melodic and harmonic references making it a deeply emotional experience for a wide audience.
The Meditation on the Chorale "Vor deinen Thron tret' ich hiermit" by Sofia Gubaidulina invited the audience to reflect on the numerological mysteries contained in the oeuvre of J.S. Bach. Claude Vivier's "Wo bist du Licht!", orchestrated for a large string section, featured his distinctive sound language which unites influences from Asia with infinite melodies. The words of the Italian mystic Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi (late 1500s) and the magnetic energy of her demonic possession found expression in Infinito Nero by Salvatore Sciarrino by means of controlled violence as well as the ensemble’s precise and virtuoso agility, veering between darkness and light.