Munich Motet Choir
| Munich Motet Choir | |
|---|---|
| Seat: | Munich / Germany |
| Founding: | 1960 |
| Genus: | mixed choir |
| Founder: | Hans Rudolf Zöbeley |
| Head : | Benedict Haag |
| Voices : | 90 SATB |
| Website : | www.muenchner-motettenchor.de |
The Münchner Motettenchor is a concert choir in Munich with around 90 singers. The choir was founded in 1960 by Hans Rudolf Zöbeley and directed by him until 1997. Between 1998 and 2013 Hayko Siemens was artistic director; since November 2013 this is Benedikt Haag.
The choir's repertoire includes composers performed less frequently, especially from more recent times (Britten, Honegger, Janáček, Kodály, Poulenc, Martin) alongside the “greats” of the past such as Monteverdi, Schütz, Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Brahms or Verdi. A cornerstone of the repertoire is Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana", which the choir has performed 40 times - including on concert tours to North and South America and Asia. During his lifetime, Orff was personally closely connected to the choir. In July 1995 the Münchner Motettenchor sang the work on the occasion of the composer's 100th birthday in front of 10,000 people on Munich's Marienplatz. For the 50th anniversary of the choir, Enjott Schneider composed a counterpart to the “Carmina Burana”. This work, "Orbe rotundo", was premiered on December 5, 2010 in the Herkulessaal in Munich.
An artistic highlight in the history of the Munich Motet Choir was the world premiere of the monumental oratorio “Joram” by Paul Ben-Haim on November 8, 2008, the evening before the 70th anniversary of the Reichspogromnacht, in the Munich Philharmonic. The composer, born in Munich as Paul Frankenburger , had written his main work in 1932/33, shortly before his emigration to Palestine. At the invitation of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra , the choir performed the “Joram” in the Smolarz Auditorium of Tel Aviv University for the first time in the unabridged original version in April 2012.
In addition to its concert activities, the Münchner Motettenchor is active at the St. Matthäuskirche in Munich, the bishop's church of the EKD council chairman Heinrich Bedford-Strohm. There he appears in the liturgically designed series "Münchner Motette in Matthäus" as well as at church services, especially on major holidays. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria is the most important sponsor of the Munich Motet Choir.
Radio and CD productions
Radio and CD productions are an integral part of the choir's work. For example, a live recording of Franz Schubert's “E-flat major Mass” and a concert at the Richard Strauss Days in Garmisch-Partenkirchen with rarely heard works by Richard Strauss were recorded in co-production with Bayerischer Rundfunk . A live recording of a concert in the Berlin Philharmonie with works from the Romantic period for choir and large orchestra was released in autumn 2004.
Tours
In May 2002 the choir carried out its largest concert tour around the world: from Europe to the North and South American continents and on to East Asia. He organized concerts in the Sala São Paulo in São Paulo (Brazil), in the Lincoln Center in New York City , in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and in the Grand Theater in Shanghai .