Stimmliche Parallelen. Concert Series: Vocal Music from the 15th to the 21st Century
Organized by Verein Cosmokultur at the Lokremise cultural center and St. Laurenzen Church in St. Gallen, the concert series "Stimmliche Parallelen" brings together vocal music from the Renaissance to the present day. The series opens with a performance by the ensemble Graindelavoix under the direction of Björn Schmelzer with the program "Josquin the Undead" — the ensemble's first appearance in St. Gallen, featuring works by Josquin des Prez from the collection Septiesme livre de chansons as well as memorial motets for the composer. The second concert, "And yet the parallels shall meet," presents a special format: for the first time in history, English vocal and instrumental music of the late 16th and early 17th centuries (works by John Dowland, William Byrd, John Bull, John Coprario, and Robert Jones) will be performed in new arrangements for voice, harpsichord, and lute, interpreted by American tenor Zachary Wilder, lutenist Eduardo Egüez, and harpsichordist Dmytro Kokoshynskyy — such a combination of instruments has not previously been used in this repertoire. In the third concert, "Quelque chose qui cloche," the Dutch duo of soprano Ekaterina Levental and pianist Antonii Baryshevskyi present vocal cycles by Maurice Ravel, Olivier Messiaen's large-scale cycle "Harawi. Chant d'amour et de mort," which combines elements of Andean folklore with the theme of tragic love, as well as a work by Tristan Murail. The series concludes with the concert "Nothing ever fell," in which British soprano Juliet Fraser performs Morton Feldman's work "Three Voices" (1982) set to poems by Frank O'Hara: in this piece, the soloist's live voice enters into dialogue with two pre-recorded vocal parts played back through loudspeakers.
