Favorite work of January 2019

psEvery month a member of the Carus team introduces one of their favorite works, whether it be a choral piece, a CD, a song book, or an organ work. The contribution for January 2019 comes from Ester Petri.

 

LIEDERPROJEKT: Folk Songs

 


Calmus Ensemble’s CD recording with international folk songs from the popular LIEDERPROJEKT is a wonderful journey around the world, on which you get to know folk tunes typical of their country of origin. It is currently my favorite CD in the entire Carus catalog. The CD is marvellous for discovering, enjoying, and relaxing, but it also makes a super present. If you have to convince someone to travel with you to, say, Denmark or Australia, they will surely go on to choose the destination for their next holiday straight away – thanks to the Folk Songs. Or you will bring a fan of Irish folk songs particular pleasure with the new arrangements of their favorite songs, such as "Finnegans’ Wake" or "Salley Gardens", and show them at the same time that their favorite repertoire might extend to include other countries.

And if you share with someone an old passion for Tetris, the CD offers something more: the Tetris background melody has its origin in a folk song – but I won’t give any more away here.

The arrangers come mainly from the countries of the songs. You feel their special, intimate connection to the songs, and they allow me, as listener, to experience the inner character of the folk soul. So, thanks to the Folk Songs, I have been able to experience the unique identity of each country’s folk songs, but also the fact that all countries have one thing in common: songs which everyone knows bring people together. My conclusion: an amazing CD with wonderful performances by the Calmus Ensemble, which incidentally celebrates its 20th anniversary this year! And if, like me, you now want to sing along with the songs yourself, then I can heartily recommend the Folk Songs choral collection.


 

Ester Petri, an experienced media and culture industry specialist, has been joint managing director of Carus-Verlag with Dr. Johannes Graulich since November 2018. In her free time she is a keen (choral) concert-goer.