Description
The new album by the Wuppertaler Kurrende, conducted by choirmaster Lukas Baumann, shines a light on two deeply human longings: light and peace. With choral works and partly introductory organ music played by Wuppertal's Director of Church Music, Jens-Peter Enk, the ensemble demonstrates not only its vocal artistry but also the rich variety of sound a boys' choir can achieve. Anton Bruckner's Locus iste, Max Reger's Ich liege und schlafe ganz im Frieden, and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's Herr, nun lassest Du Deinen Diener in Frieden fahren represent the realm of classical choral literature, while the greater part of the recording offers exciting insights into contemporary vocal music. Male-voice settings by Albert de Klerk (1917-1998) and Wilhelm Nagel (1871-1955) stand alongside Vytautas Miskinis's (*1954) stirring Cantate Domino and motets by Gustav Gunsenheimer (*1934) and Karl Hansel (*1993), both composed especially for boys' choirs. A truly personal musical signature is set by the Wuppertaler Kurrende with commissioned works such as Der Herr segne Dich by Alwin Michael Schronen (*1965) and Beschirm uns Gott by Heinz Rudolf Meier (*1940), who himself directed the choir from 1979 to 2005. Vividly interpreted spirituals convincingly round off this rich musical panorama.
