Ulm oratorio

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Ulmer Oratorium is a jubilee composition created by Marios Joannou Elia to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Ulm Minster Tower. The premiere scheduled for May 2015 failed, although there are different statements about the reasons. Until March, Elia had not provided complete sheet music and conducting material suitable for rehearsals. This was denied by the composer and errors made by the city in project management were pointed out. According to the mayor at the time, Ivo Gönner , the performance did not fail because of lack of grades, but because of uncertainties about the specific production.

Emergence

The 60-minute composition commissioned by the city of Ulm , which was mostly created between 2013 and 2014, is composed for 400 musicians (including ten soloists, seven choirs, two orchestras and three main stages). It was planned as the highlight for the 125th anniversary of the completion of the cathedral.

Robert Kleindienst wrote the libretto for the oratorio . Overall artistic director of the project with 450 participants was Marios Joannou Elia (between 2013 and March 2015).

In addition to the vocal soloists and the cathedral organ , "instruments" from the Münster bauhütte (a total of 46 tools such as knuckles and flex; building blocks are used as sound bodies) and a "bell orchestra" including the cathedral bells and other bells and bell-like instruments. † Elijah viewed the sacred in the “Ulmer Oratorium” in a supra-religious dimension, from an ideological point of view. The work is based on the "Elias" oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy , with which the ceremony for the completion of the cathedral tower was celebrated 125 years earlier.

occupation

The work has the following cast:

Coloratura soprano , lyric soprano , mezzo-soprano , tenor , bass , pop / jazz singing, violin , organ , trumpet (including spoken chant ), electric bass , philharmonic orchestra , wind orchestra , adult choir , children's choir , bell orchestra , Münsterbauhütte ensemble, various drum ensembles as well as electronics .

premiere

The world premiere was planned for May 29th and 30th, 2015 - as open air on the Ulm Münsterplatz in front of 4,500 spectators.

However, due to differences between the client and the composer, the premiere of the € 500,000 "Ulmer Oratorio" could not take place. According to the mayor of Ulm, Ivo Gönner , the composer did not finish the score on time, so that the ensembles involved did not have enough rehearsal time. However, Elijah refused. The entire composition was submitted in full and in good time to the culture department of the city of Ulm. However, their project organization was inadequate. In addition, the Ulm actors had intervened in the original composition and demanded serious musical changes. Elijah also resisted depictions of the inability to perform his work.

The press (e.g. Südwestpresse and Stuttgarter Zeitung ) criticized the attitude of the city of Ulm.

The cancellation of the premiere of the "Ulmer Oratorio" triggered a local political debate.

Scandal

In the last municipal council meeting of Ivo Gönner's term of office (on February 17, 2016) there was a scandal. City councilor Hans-Walter Roth put the supposedly completely printed score of the “Ulm Oratorio” on the council table after the head of the cultural department had previously emphasized that the city did not have the composition to this day. Roth said he had owned the finished work since May 8, 2015. According to Roth, dealing with the renowned composer Elia is damaging the city's reputation, and a musicologist has assessed the score as “playable”.

Gönner indicated that the performance did not fail because of a lack of scores, but because of uncertainties about the specific production, i.e. the implementation of the mammoth work. Some of those involved were overwhelmed with the work. There was also criticism of patrons from the ranks of the local council because they considered a project manager called for by Elia to be superfluous. Gönner mentioned two ways of performing the oratorio after all: by an external organizer with a municipal subsidy, or by the city of Ulm itself.

Trivia

  • The advertising track of the "Ulmer Oratorium" was clicked over 40,000 times in the first week alone.
  • After the rejection, the Ulm Green Group nevertheless demanded the performance of the "Ulm Oratorio", albeit in an unfinished version, because "every other piece is second choice".
  • The deputy chairman of the CDU parliamentary group , Hans-Walter Roth, advocated that the city should soon come to an amicable agreement with the composer. He suggested the oath weekend as a performance date and later the Reformation year 2017.
  • An article in the Südwestpresse speculated that the name of the composer Marios Joannou Elia contributed to the fact that the most popular boy's first name in 2015 in Ulm was Elias .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Ulmer Oratorium" canceled for the anniversary of the cathedral tower
  2. ↑ Composer Elia: "I was just too helpful" Südwestpresse Ulm, March 27, 2015, accessed on October 2, 2017
  3. ^ Oratorio: Confusion Continues. Patrons evaded in the last meeting
  4. ↑ Confusion about the "Ulmer Oratorio"
  5. ^ Message from Südwestpresse, March 27, 2015
  6. ↑ Composer Marios Joannou Elia: Ulm oratorio was completed on the day of cancellation
  7. ↑ Polymedia Works by Marios Joannou Elia
  8. ↑ A man for the monumental
  9. ^ Announcement Südwestpresse Ulm, March 27, 2015
  10. ↑ Spectacle in honor of the minster
  11. ↑ The harmony of flex and stone saw
  12. ↑ Preparations for "Ulmer Oratorium" are in progress
  13. ↑ A man for the monumental
  14. ↑ Spectacle in honor of the minster
  15. ^ "Ulmer Oratorium" on the Münsterplatz
  16. ↑ Spectacle in honor of the minster
  17. ↑ jubilation and dissonance
  18. ^ Message from Südwestpresse, March 27, 2015
  19. ^ Announcement Südwestpresse Ulm, May 12, 2015
  20. ^ Message from Südwestpresse, March 27, 2015
  21. ↑ Composer Marios Joannou Elia: Ulm oratorio was completed on the day of cancellation
  22. ↑ Composer Elia: "I was just too helpful"
  23. ↑ message Augsbürger General, 11 March 2015
  24. ↑ Composer Marios Joannou Elia: Ulm has to expose its weaknesses
  25. ↑ Münsterturm anniversary on the ground
  26. ↑ The pettiness of the customer
  27. ↑ "Oratorio" still has a political resonance
  28. ↑ An anniversary that has an impact
  29. ^ Oratorio: Confusion Continues. Patrons evaded in the last meeting
  30. ↑ An anniversary that has an impact
  31. ↑ Confusion about the "Ulmer Oratorio"
  32. ↑ An anniversary that has an impact
  33. ↑ message Augsbürger General, 11 March 2015
  34. ^ Message from Südwestpresse, March 11, 2015
  35. ↑ Oratorio: Is there a second chance?
  36. ↑ Confusion about the "Ulmer Oratorio"
  37. ↑ Most popular boy's first name in 2015 in Ulm: Elias