SWR Stuttgart Vocal Ensemble
Founded in 1946 as a special ensemble for the particular needs of the radio station, the SWR Stuttgart Vocal Ensemble has devoted itself to the propagation of new, less familiar or virtuoso choir music for more than fifty years in concerts and radio productions, setting new standards in the process.
As one of five choirs of the ARD (group of public radio and television stations in Germany) and part of a choir landscape probably unparalleled in quality and intensity in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, the 36 singers have developed a very specific artistic profile under their chief conductor Rupert Huber. And for this reason the Ensemble is the first choice of many promoters at home and abroad for the performance of modern classical music, however above all when the most difficult works of contemporary music are to be performed - and for many composers, conductors and orchestras it is an invaluable partner. As a result, the choir has a reputation as one of the best ensembles of its kind anywhere in the world.
The SWR supports this development with the specific placement of composition
orders for its choir. The list of works premiered by the SWR Stuttgart Vocal
Ensemble is long, and includes compositions of such successful masters as Wolfgang
Rihm, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Helmut Lachenmann, Isang Yun, Mauricio Kagel, Milko
Kelemen and Hans Zender, however also numerous works of composers of the younger
generation, such as Toshio Hosokawa, Hanspeter Kyburz and Manuel Hidalgo.
In its studio productions the SWR Stuttgart Vocal Ensemble primarily concentrates
on its a cappella repertoire. For its numerous performances at renowned concert
halls and festivals at home and abroad, the choir frequently cooperates with
leading modern music ensembles and in the area of works for choir and symphony
with the SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. Conductors such as Ingo Metzmacher,
Peter Eötvös, Michael Gielen, Pierre Boulez, John Eliot Gardiner,
Sir Neville Marriner, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Sir Georg Solti have directed
on these occasions. The concerts are generally broadcast as live recordings
and reveal the precision and tonal culture of the ensemble, as do the numerous
releases on CD.
Since 2003 Marcus Creed is artistic director of SWR Stuttgart Vocal Ensemble and focus on a cappella productions.
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Romances and Ballads I op. 67 Romances and Ballads II op. 75 Romances and Ballads III op. 145 Romances and Ballads IV op. 146 Romances and Ballads op. 69 Romances and Ballads op. 91 |
Robert Schumann's a cappella choral works have established themselves on the
concert stage far less than those of Mendelssohn or Brahms. He himself, however,
accorded them a much higher position among his works, writing that they were
composed "with true passion," and that nothing of their kind existed. The 37
mixed voices of SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart show us exactly what he was talking
about. Here we have "Romances and Ballads I, II, III and IV, five songs in each,
and op. 69 and op. 91, six tunes in each, for a total of 32 cuts. These are
impassioned, romantic vocal gems. Some favorites: "Schon Rohtraut," "Ungewitter,"
"Schnitter Tod," "Im Walde," "Der Schmid," "Der Sanger," "Romanze vom Gansebuben,"
"Brautgesang," "Tamburin" and "Jager Wohlgemuth." Masterful compositions by
Schumann, wonderful, spirited interpretations by SWRVS. Recommended!
| 7018 CD $15.98 |
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Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Trois Chansons de Charles d'Orleans 1. Dieu! qu'il l'a fait bon regarder! 2. Quant j'ay ouy le tabourin 3. Yver, vous n'estes qu'un villain Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) 1. Nicollete 2. Trois beaux oiseuax du paradis 3. Ronde Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) 1. Hayo kapri tama 2. Ma premiere fois terre 3. Ma robe d'amour 4. Nikohama palalan(e) souki 5. Mayoma kali Andre Jolivet (1905-1974) 1. Ouvrons les portes de l'amour, Moderato 2. Fille du souffle, Allegro semplice 3. Au son de sa lyre, Allegro maestoso |
Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Andre Jolivet each wrote one composition for unaccompanied chorus. Olivier Messiaen produced two. His 1937 motet "O Sacrum Convivium" brings the mystifying sound of his organ works into the vocal medium, and 1948's "Cinq Rechants" has an esthetic all its own. Never before had anyone composed so radically for chorus. Andre Jolivet's 1953 "Epithalame" is similarly groundbreaking. The renowned composer and director Rupert Huber leads talented, 37-strong mixed-voice SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart in this difficult, striking material. Here are 3 pieces by Debussy (our favorite: ), 3 by Maurice Ravel (our favorite: "Ronde,") 5 by Messiaen (Niokhama palalan souki), 3 by Jolivet (Au son de sa lyre, Allegro maestoso"), and one by Chausson, "Ballata pour quatour vocal op. 29." Unlike any choral music we've ever heard. Stunning!
| 6974 CD $15.98 |
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Vespers (“All Night Vigil”), Op. 37 |
Rachmaninov’s passionate setting of the Russian “All Night Vigil” is to the Eastern Orthodox liturgy what Bach’s B Minor Mass is to the West. Consulting Rachmaninov’s manuscripts and correspondence, and working with Russian language and cultural specialists, the virtuoso SWR Vocal Ensemble, under the direction of Marcus Creed, has drawn upon every artistic source available to make this new recording of Rachmaninov’s transcendent Vespers.
| 7838 CD $15.98 |
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Kyrie Gloria Gloria in Excelcis Deo Gratias agimus tibi Domine Deus Qui Tollis Quoniam Cum Sanctus Spiritu Credo Credo in unum Deum Crucifixus Et Resurrexit Preludoio Religioso Sanctus O Salutaris Hostia Agnus Dei |
The Petite Petite Messe solennelle is one of Rossini's last large-scale works. Even though a late work, and a religious work at that, Rossini manages to bring his sparkling wit and operatic flair to the proceedings. The present recording is the first CD recording of the original version for four voices accompanied by two pianos and harmonium. Rupert Huber and the SWR Vocal ensemble Stuttgart perform with style and commitment bringing their enthusiasm for “New Music” to this rediscovered masterwork.
| 7839 CD $15.98 |
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Da Un Diario Italiano Cori Di Didone Das Atmende Klarsein |
Few composers have exercised as vigorous a political conscience as did the late Luigi Nono. Beginning his career as a dedicated 12-tone composer (and Schoenberg's son-in-law), Nono consciously sought to revolutionize both music and society in his large output. Significantly, many of Nono's compositions were highly expressive and individualistic settings of texts from authors as diverse as Nietzsche and Latino Labor Leader, Caesar Chavez, to the anonymous inscriptions of political prisoners. The miracle of Nono's music is the tremendous beauty and intensity he was able to forge using such disparate material. The compositions on this disc, masterfully performed by Rupert Huber and the Vokalensemble Stuttgart, are definitive readings of some of the most difficult choral music EVER composed. And yet, despite all the avant garde techniques, the sonic impact of these scores has the otherworldly beauty of Gregorian chant. Make no mistake; this is an essential recording of music by one of the 20th century's greatest composers!
| 7841 CD $15.98 |
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Omaggio a Luigi Nono op. 16 Eight Choruses to Poems by Dezo Tandori op. 23 Songs of Despair and Sorrow op. 18 |
Rare recordings of the music of this popular contemporary composer. Amazing choral virtuosity from the SWR Vocal Ensemble and director Marcus Creed. György Kurtág was long overshadowed by his fellow Hungarian György Ligeti, but in recent years his music has become far better known. Kurtág was the teacher of the renowned pianists András Schiff and Zoltán Kocsis at the Liszt Academy in Budapest.
| 8853 CD $18.95 |
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