VietNamNet Bridge – Gewandhaus Choir Leipzig will perform German folksongs in Ha Noi and HCM City.

Gewandhaus Choir Leipzig will perform in Ha Noi and HCM City.  — Photo Goethe Institute Hanoi

The concert will feature 14 folksongs from the 16th to 20th centuries, including the songs Der Mond ist aufgegangen (The Moon Has Risen) and Abendlied (Evening Song) which the choir will sing with Vietnamese musicians.

The Moon Has Risen is a piece which presents the age-old fear that the moon will not rise again. The tuba in an opera plays a dramatic role, representing humanity, which is questioning the frightening destruction of nature and the environment.

Evening Song is the second of three German folksongs for soprano and alto voices composed in Berlin. The date of composition is uncertain.

The concert will be conducted by Gregor Myer, who has been artistic director of Gewandhaus Choir Leipzig since the 2007-08 season.

The acapella concert will be presented on stage at Viet Nam National Academy of Music’s Grand Hall at 8pm tomorrow and at the HCM City Ballet and Symphony Orchestra on October 15 at 8pm at 112 Nguyen Du District 1, HCM City.

On Thursday the 43-member choir will perform Ein Deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) with the Viet Nam National Symphony and Orchestra, Viet Nam National Opera and Ballet’s soprano Ha Pham Thang Long and the choir’s bass-baritone Steven Klose.

The German Requiem is a work of unusual significance and great mastery. It is a large-scale work with chorus, orchestra, a soprano and a baritone soloist, composed between 1865 and 1868.

It comprises seven movements, which together last 65 to 80 minutes, making this work Brahms’s longest composition.

The concert will be held at the Ha Noi Opera House at 8pm.

Gewandhaus Choir Leipzig has been one of the most renowned German concert choirs for over 150 years and is closely linked to the traditional Gewandhaus orchestra.

It has continually performed under leading conductors of the day, including celebrated masters such as the Gewandhauskapellmeister Carl Reinecke. The Gewandhaus Choir’s eclectic repertoire necessitates considerable vocal flexibility on the part of its members. In addition to a cappella music from the most diverse epochs and the large-scale choral symphonic repertoire, the choir’s programmes regularly include gospel, soul, pop and jazz.

Recent highlights include the collaboration with star trombonist Nils Landgren and a magnificent Bach Night to mark the composer’s 325th birthday.

The Gewandhaus Choir undertakes concert tours around Germany and abroad. It is a regular guest at various eminent festivals.

In addition, the choir has performed at more unusual locations, such as the Leipzig Art Museum and the Battle of the Nations Memorial.

The choir has been invited to perform in Viet Nam by the Goethe-Institute Hanoi.        

VNS