Together with the European broadcasting festival ‹MusMA› CULTURESCAPES presents contemporary compositions of young composers. ‹MusMA› is a cooperation between ten European festivals and local radio stations which promotes contemporary composers and their works throughout Europe. These works were first presented in Wrocław, Poland, at the beginning of June 2013. This year's theme ‹Man and Music› is divided into two aspects: Basic human experiences, such as death and birth, as the inspiration for works of art, and ‹educational workshops› that focus on the musical heritage of a nation.
To provide a contrast to these premieres, the programme will be combined with works of the grand Swiss composers Urs Peter Schneider and Klaus Huber and a premiere by Jean J. Knutti, a member of SoloVoices. The selected works, which explore the theme of the festival, represent the cultural heritage of Switzerland and also offer a study of basic human experiences. The vocal ensemble SoloVoices, founded in 2007, specialises in the interpretation of contemporary music, in particular the performance of advanced literature and new works for solo voices within various contexts. This sometimes includes instruments or electronic sound sources or the bringing together of modern and ancient vocal music, with particular emphasis on the use of literature from the 16th and 17th century.
Program MusMA-works:
Darija Andovska (*1979) ‹Aporia Apeiron› for 12-part mixed choir (Skopje, 2013), Compositions commissioned by CULTURESCAPES
Ana Gnjatović (*1984) ‹Balance - lost› for mixed choir (Belgrade, 2013)
Yigit Aydin (*1971) ‹Friends of God› for 12 singers (Ankara, 2013)
Agata Zubel (*1978) ‹Lullaby› for mixed choir (Cracow, 2013)
Franck Bovet (*1984) ‹Yggdrasil› for 12-part mixed choir
The program is supplemented by the following works:
Urs Peter Schneider (*1939): choir book 12 songs on texts by Robert Walser, for 8 voices (1966-80), excerpts
Klaus Huber (*1924): little requiem for Heinrich Böll - latin texts by Hildegard von Bingen for a cappella choir and bass-baritone solo (1991)
Jean-J. Knutti (*1961) ‹Blackthorn blossom. Dreams.› for 12 voices (2013, UA)
SoloVoices:
Svea Schildknecht, Agnieszka Kowalczyk, Kelly Landerkin (soprano)
Francisca Näf, Anne-May Krüger (mezzo-soprano)
Akira Tachikawa (countertenor)
Daniel Issa, Walter Meier, Dieter Wagner (tenor)
Jean J. Knutti, Simon MacHale (baritone)
Jean-Christophe Groffe (basso)
CHF 30.-/20.-/15.-/5.-
MUSMA is supported by the CULTURE PROGRAMME of the European Union.
