Thursday 3rd July, 20:00, Johanneskirche, Cecilienstraße 2, D-66111 Saarbrücken – – –
Sunday 6th July, 17:00, Eglise St Martin, Av. Grande-Duchesse Charlotte, L-3597, Dudelange – – –
In partnership with the Choir of the University of the Saarland we will perform music from composers who broadly come from “the north”. This project features a choir with more than 100 voices, supported by the 22-piece Orchester Con Nov’arco.
We will perform accompanied and a capella choral works, and there will be purely orchestral pieces from Ola Gjeilo, Morten Lauridsen, Karl Jenkins, Johan Svendson, and Edvard Grieg. Entrance will, as ever, be free of charge, with a donation requested.
Inspirational Eglise St Martin in Dudelange
We’re excited to be performing in the Eglise St Martin in Dudelange on Sunday 6th July at 17:00. It was a challenge to find a location large enough to accommodate nearly 140 musicians, and we are confident that this building will be a good setting for our concert in the Grand Duchy.
As you will probably know, this church has a strong reputation as a concert venue, particularly its ability to attract world class organists. As well as the first-rate acoustics, Eglise St Martin is an architectural gem, especially the attractive friezes painted 100 years ago this year. We’re also pleased to be taking our music to a new location for us in the Grand Duchy, with Dudelange an important centre for music in this country.
Why not come to hear us in Saarbrücken?
Alternatively, just an hour or so away in the Johanneskirche Saarbrücken, we’ll be singing on Thursday 3rd July at 20:00. If you have the time, maybe on the way you could drop into the Unesco World Heritage site voelklinger-huette.org which is worth the visit for the fully preserved ironworks and its artistic exhibitions.
Chor des Universität des Saarlandes
We are delighted to be singing again with the Chor des Universität des Saarlandes under the inspirational, warm leadership of Prof. Dr Helmut Freitag. We last sang with them just before the pandemic, performing Karl Jenkins’ Armed Man in Luxembourg and Saarbrücken, as well in the emblematic setting of Berlin’s Gedächtniskirche (Memorial Church).
Thanks again to Thomas Gareau
Once again, the members of Uni.lu Choir are grateful to the creativity and energy of our musical director and conductor Thomas Gareau. He has prepared us well for the artistic and technical challenges ahead.
Thanks to our sponsors
A major, cross-border cooperation such as this is not easy to organise. The Espace Cultures of the University of Luxembourg are central to making our choir happen, and we are deeply grateful for their support, over the long term and for this project. Also, our profound thanks goes to the Fondation Loutsch-Weydert for their on-going backing to our choir.
More on the music
Ola Gjeilo (born in Norway in 1978) will be the centrepiece, particularly his up-lifting, cinematic Sunrise Mass for eight voices and strings. There will also be a capella performances from Uni.lu Choir of his Ubi Caritas, with our Saarland friends singing Northern Lights.
O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen, a composer born in 1943 in the Pacific North-West of the USA, as well having Nordic European heritage.
Orchester con nov’arco will perform purely instrumental pieces. There will be the Largo-Allegretto from the Palladio Suite by Karl Jenkins, who was born in 1944 in Wales. As well, there will be Ifyol gjaett’e gietinn from Johan Svendson (1840-1911) and the air from Edvard Grieg’s (1843-1907) Holberg Suite. Both composers were Norweigiens known of their use of traditional Nordic melodies in their work.