Madrigal Choir Aachen

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Madrigal Choir Aachen
Madrigal Choir Aachen 2016
Seat: Aachen / Germany
Founding: 1978
Genus: Chamber choir
Head : Johannes Honecker
Voices : approx. 30 (SATB)
Website : www.madrigalchor-aachen.de

The Madrigalchor Aachen is a mixed choir that was founded in Aachen in 1978 and is a member of the Association of German Concert Choirs . Initially, the choir dedicated itself to the performance of mostly secular madrigal music as well as sacred choral music of the Renaissance and Baroque, as it was named . He later expanded his repertoire to include romantic and modern music . The choir, which now has around 30 voices, has been led by Johannes Honecker since 2018. Alongside Carmina Mundi , the Aachen Chamber Choir and the Aachen Young Choir , the Madrigal Choir Aachen is one of the four choirs that initiated the 2009 International Chorbiennale in Aachen.

history

Twelve singers came together to found the choir in 1978 and performed works of madrigal music under the direction of Johannes Meister , who was then studying at the Cologne University of Music . In the following years the choir performed in the greater Aachen area, in the Rhineland, in Münster and in neighboring countries as well as in Halifax , England, and Denmark. In 1984 the choir won first place in the “Chamber Choirs” category at the Cleveland Inter-TIE (Tees-side International Eisteddfod) international choir competition in Middlesbrough . After Meister had decided to continue his work abroad (he works in Zug in Switzerland today ), Thomas Busch took over the choir direction one year later.

Under Thomas Busch, the Aachen Madrigal Choir took part in numerous national and international appearances in the 1987 choir competition in Maasmechelen and in November 1989 came fourth in the electoral singing for the German choir competition in Cologne . The choir was then led by Andreas Fiebig (until December 1991) and after him by Clementine Neuray. In 1992 the choir went through a crisis; its continued existence was in jeopardy and Clementine Neuray resigned. With the election of the Dutchman Hans Leenders, a church musician from Heerlen and lecturer for Gregorian chant as well as cantors and organists of the Liebfrauenbasilika in Maastricht , as the new choirmaster, the members decided to continue the choir, albeit with an expanded program from all eras and with a larger ensemble .

Under the direction of Leenders, the choir received a new impetus, national and international performances were intensified and successes in competitions occurred again. The Madrigal Choir Aachen achieved second place in the 1995 International Choir Competition in Middlesbrough in the category “Small mixed Choirs” and “Large mixed Choirs”. In the following years the choir received invitations to guest appearances in Heerlen, Maastricht, Reims, Tongeren, Vaals, to the “9ème Festival International d'Orgue d'Arbois” (2009) and to the baroque festival in Pontoise (2012). In addition to joint performances with the other Aachen-based choirs, the Aachen Madrigal Choir has performed with the Chœur de chambre Ars Vocalis de Reims, the Singapore Youth Choir, the Jena Madrigal Circle of the Jena Philharmonic , the Vocaal Ensemble Kerkrade and the Venloos Vocaal Ensemble.

As part of the 20th anniversary of the choir in 1998, the choir organized a concert tour to Jerusalem and Nazareth, where the choir performed on the occasion of the international festival “musica sacra”, and to Tel Aviv for the anniversary concert of the “Tel-Aviv Chamber Choir” in the Noga Hall recorded by Israeli television. In addition, the madrigal choir organized a service in the Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem on this trip . Further special concert tours took place to Toledo (2000), Antwerp (2001), Estonia (2004), Rome (2007), Groningen (2010) and to Brittany (2012), where performances were performed with local choirs.

The Madrigalchor Aachen has repeatedly performed German and international premieres, including in 1993 the Psalm 112 “Laudate servi domini” by Ludo Claesen , in 1996 the “Muziek voor Koor” by Tijn Stoverinck , and in 2007 the work: “Night gives old woman the word” by Wolfgang Bartsch (* 1964), which is inspired by an Indian text, and in 2010 the oratorio “Evangelium Veritas” by Leo Köhlenberg . In 2013, the “Motetta brevia de tempore” by Marcus Teller (1682–1728) and the “Ballad of Outer Life” for four choirs by Hans Leenders were premiered.

In addition to radio recordings at WDR , the BBC and the KRO , several CDs were made. These were mostly concert recordings, such as the CD “Leipziger Allerlei” from 2007 with works by composers from the 18th and 19th centuries. The Madrigal Choir Aachen received consistently positive reviews in the press over the years.

The International Chorbiennale in Aachen was and is a particular concern of the Madrigal Choir Aachen; He got involved both in the establishment in 2009 and in the active development.

The madrigal choir has been singing under the direction of Johannes Honecker since 2018.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Entry at the Association of German Concert Choirs
  2. ↑ Madrigalchor celebrates with a big program on its anniversary tour in Israel ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Press release January 30, 1998 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nt-nv.fh-koeln.de
  3. ↑ Program of June 26, 2013 on the website of the Association of German Concert Choirs
  4. ↑ Alfred Beaujean: Madrigal Choir inspires with Baroque Vespers in the Baroque Hall ( Memento of the original from January 4, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in Aachener Zeitung on January 10, 2000 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nt-nv.fh-koeln.de
  5. ↑ Christoph Hahn: Sparkling Renaissance Miniatures ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in Aachener Nachrichten on May 31, 2002 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nt-nv.fh-koeln.de
  6. ↑ Madrigal choir triggers thunderous applause in Finkenbergkirche , in Aachener Zeitung on January 31, 2012
  7. ↑ Jenny Schmetz: Seriously, but also in a very relaxed way , in Aachener Zeitung from June 1, 2011