John Hoybye (arr.) Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten

Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) is regarded as one of the most important German poets of the 19th century. He was born in Düsseldorf and is best known for his lyric poetry, which combines Romanticism with sharp social criticism. Many of his works deal with love, nature and freedom. Because of his political views, Heine lived in exile in Paris for many years.

He also occupies a prominent place in the history of music. His lyrical texts were set to music by numerous composers and had a particularly profound influence on the Romantic art song. Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Hugo Wolf, in particular, created musical works of enduring significance based on Heine’s poems. The poetic combination of linguistic simplicity, emotional depth and often ironic ambiguity offered composers a wide range of possibilities for musical interpretation. As a result, Heine’s poetry became a central part of the Romantic art-song repertoire and continues to influence vocal music to this day.

The Danish composer and choral conductor John Høybye is recognised far beyond Scandinavia as a conductor, arranger and composer, especially of choral music. Høybye is represented in the Carus programme with a selection of his works.

As a conductor, he has led numerous international ensembles in masterclasses, at festivals and on concert tours, including the Tritonus Choir, which he founded, the Danish and Hungarian Radio Choirs, the symphony orchestras from Århus, Ålborg and Zealand and the Danish Radio Big Band.

As a composer, he has made a significant contribution to the renewal of Scandinavian choral music, not least by successfully combining the classical choral sound with elements of gospel and jazz music. In 1993, the Danish Choral Society honoured him as ‘Composer of the Year’. Six years later, the Danish Composer's Society honoured him with the annual award.

Jazz elements also characterise the works published by Carus, including This Human Life! for solo voice and mixed choir.