Hannes Minnaar (c)Green Room Creatives-Lars van den Brink_2021

Hannes Minnaar and the Groot Omroepkoor: Brahms and Martin

Programme

Johannes Brahms from Vier Quartette opus 92: O schöne Nacht
Johannes Brahms from Fünf Gesänge opus 104: Nachtwache no. 1
Johannes Brahms from Fantasien opus 116: Capriccio (no. 3)
Johannes Brahms from Drei Gesänge opus 42: Vineta
Johannes Brahms Intermezzo opus 117 no. 1
Johannes Brahms from Fünf Gesänge opus 104: Nachtwache no. 2
Johannes Brahms Geistliches Lied
Grace-Evangeline Mason A Memory of the Ocean (Dutch premiere)
Frank Martin Mass for double choir

A special program featuring the Groot Omroepkoor with conductor Florian Helgath and pianist Hannes Minnaar. Before intermission choral songs by Brahms and a Dutch premiere by Mason; after intermission Martin's Mass for double choir.

Choral songs by Brahms
A concert focusing on the Great Broadcasting Choir. Led by German choral conductor Florian Helgath and accompanied by artist in residence Hannes Minnaar, the choir will sing a "Brahmsiade," a brilliant selection from the rich oeuvre of choral songs Brahms wrote in his lifetime. Before intermission, also choral music by Grace-Eveline Mason. This frequently lauded English composer won first prize in the 2018 composer competition of the Royal Philharmonic Society. In a joint commission by this organization and the AVROTROS Vrijdagconcert, she composed a new work for solo piano, choir and cello, which has its Dutch premiere in this program.

The double-choir Mass by Frank Martin
Frank Martin composed his Mass for double choir as early as 1921, but did not have it performed for the first time until 1963. "I saw it as a matter between God and myself," he gave as the reason for this reticence. He therefore did not experience his composition as a solemn setting of an ancient liturgical text, but as a purely personal approach that had to have its place not in the celebration but in the concert hall. There, since that memorable first performance, it has made an indelible impression on listeners. For conductor Florian Helgath a beloved work that he has made sound with several choirs in recent years.