Details

Abstract / Summary

The vocal ensemble "Heinavanker" perform Renaissance works from Johannes Ockeghem and Estonian sacred folk songs. A concert at the basilica of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery, recorded, produced and designed by Andreas Otto Grimminger & Josef-Stefan Kindler. - - - Throughout the history of cultural development, two strains of thought have confronted each other - one staunchly defending tradition while the other strives for innovation. This is especially true of sacred music. It has been continuously reflected upon how it should be and how it could be. The leading figure in Estonian classic music, Rudolf Tobias, has, in his writings, suggested the following synthesis: „explore the inner motivations of traditional music" and, further, „turn our attention to the inner essence of our era" in order to „attain, finally, contemporary sacred music that satisfies our actual needs." But how much common ground can the actual needs have when one considers the context of different eras, geographic locations and social situations? What is the relationship between the solemn contrapuntal masterpieces of the Renaissance, reflecting that era‘s courtly, religious and scientific spirit, the meditative monophonic monastic music of the middle ages and, unique to the small Estonian population, the characteristic sacred choral pieces with their strong folk influence and their vitality, reflecting the people‘s earlier religious awakening? And further, is it possible, considering the continually changing and from many sides influenced landscape of contemporary sacred music, to find someone who can fulfill the „actual needs" of this kind of music? The Estonian religious folk songs or popular chorals originated as a product of the religious renewal of the rural population. Most of the texts are from the Lutheran Hymnal. However, the melodies are developed till nearly unrecognisable and are often ingeniously adorned. The half improvised arrangements of these songs resonate as an accomplishment of the whole ensemble. The corner stone of Johannes Ockeghem‘s (1417-1497) inspiring and difficult to define music is an extraordinary balance between hidden mathematical constructions and the apparently spontaneous melody lines which they help construct, but which nevertheless remain unexpected. Ockeghem is a composer who brings to completion the musical thoughts of an epoch, leading to a counterbalancing by the following generation who preferred more transparent paths. For singers of today‘s discernment, Ockeghem‘s works make such unusual demands that their performance is considered a test of courage. „The maestro himself ultimately worked with the same singers for forty years" the experts sigh, as they lay the scores back in the drawer. Towards the end of the concert, we hear one of the oldest and most distinctive examples of the Estonian culture, a pre-Christian runic song - „The Creation". It is about a bird that makes a nesting place in a paddock, lays eggs and hatches offspring. One of the baby birds becomes the sun, the second the moon, the third a star, and the fourth a rainbow. This vocal tradition possibly dates back many thousands of years. In the „Loomiselaul" from Kadrina one recognises the main features of a runic song. The opening rhyme, the eight footed trochaic poetry meter, the exchange between the precentor and the choir, and the accord of both created through the singular „leegajus": before the beginning of the following verse, the precentor and the choir sing the last syllable of the previous verse together. (Margo Kolar, Conductor)

Field of Interest

Classical Music

Copyright Message

2005 K & K Verlagsanstalt

Content Type

Music recording

Duration

1 hour 1 mins

Format

Audio

URL

www.kuk-verlagsanstalt.com

Label

K&K Verlagsanstalt

Performer

Heinavanker

UPC (Physical)

829410610551

Date Recorded

2005-06-12

Release Date

2006-08-29

Subject

Classical Music, Music & Performing Arts, Renaissance, Renacimiento, Renascimento, Renaissance

Keywords and Translated Subjects

Renacimiento, Renascimento