Solistkoret og Florian Helgath: Om høsten

A musical journey through the seasons!

Program

Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897)/Burkhard Kinzler (f. 1963): Herbstsynkopen
Francis Poulenc (1899 – 1963): Un soir de neige
Paul Hindemith (1895 – 1963): Six chansons
Benjamin Britten (1913 – 1976): Five flower songs
Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907): Trudom, Du gamle mor, Fyremål

October is here and our journey begins in autumn with Swiss composer Burkhard Kinzler’s evocative Herbstsykopen. The work is a captivating reflection on Johannes Brahms’s Fünf Gesänge op. 104; written towards the end of his life, these extraordinary settings reveal Brahms at the height of his choral artistry. Burkhard Kinzler seamlessly interweaves Brahms songs with his own expressive music.

We move from autumn into winter with Francis Poulenc’s Un soir de neige (An evening of snow). At first glance this work appears to represent the harshness of winter, but at the heart of Paul Éluard’s deeply meaningful poetry lies the world of the French resistance movement during the Second World War – the unyielding winter conveys the unbearable nature of the political situation.

Paul Hindemith’s light, chanson-like mode of expression draws us into spring. The state of affairs in Germany in 1938 was such that Hindemith felt compelled to move to Switzerland. The country's peaceable setting and Rainer Maria Rilke’s texts inspired this delightful, light-hearted music. It is telling that the German composer chose to set these songs in French.

We are transported to summer through the unmistakable soundworld and artistic nuances of Benjamin Britten in his Five Flower Songs, a fitting conclusion to this voyage through the cycle of seasons. The final work in this programme is with the wonderful Vinje Lieder by Edvard Grieg in a masterful and sensitive arrangement for mixed choir by Thorleif Aamont.