Due to a construction side on the A40 in direction of Dortmund the exit 40 Lütgendortmund is completly closed. We advise to use the A42 exit 26 Castrop-Rauxel.
ChorWerk Ruhr, a highly professional and flexible ensemble of young singers, is undoubtedly one of the best choruses in the Ruhr region and in North Rhine Westphalia as whole. For many years now, this vocal ensemble has been a constant partner at Ruhrtriennale concerts and opera productions, essential in terms of their artistic quality. ChorWerk Ruhr has enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with Ensemble Resonanz for some time now, and this collaboration will continue this year with a joint concert at Dortmund’s Maschinenhalle, Zeche Zollern, now near completion.
The resonant acoustic of its Jugendstil architecture offers an ideal framework for the sacred music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt and British composer John Tavener. Both composers, with their minimalist, reduced, and contemplative music, have become something like ›pop stars‹ in the world of new music.
John Tavener’sIkon of Light for chorus and string trio (1984) uses a 10th century prayer and combines it with one of the oldest hymns of the Orthodox liturgy, the so-called Trisagion
(›thrice holy‹). The same traditional hymn is used in Arvo Pärt’s Trisagion for string orchestra (1992), this time in instrumental form. The musical motifs are developed directly from the rhythm of the Greek text and give the music a spoken quality.
The Te Deum for three choruses, piano, string orchestra, and tape by Arvo Pärt is a setting of the Christian hymn of praise from the fourth century, which also includes the Trisagion. The spatialization of the music by using three choruses amplifies this symbolism, an effect that is further emphasized by the acoustics of this venue with its reverberating echoes.
John Taverner
Ikon of Light (1984)
for mixed chorus and string trio
Arvo Pärt
Trisagion (1992/94)
for string orchestra
Te Deum (1984/1985, rev. 2007)
for three choruses, prepared piano,
string orchestra and audio tape
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