Arnold Schönberg: Friede auf Erden – Richard Strauss & Gustav Mahler: Im Abendrot. Transcriptions by Clytus Gottwald
Clytus Gottwald possessed the special gift of translating the most diverse compositions for solo voice and instrumental accompaniment into a pure, polyphonic choral sound. He was rightly dubbed by music critics the “father” of modern choral singing.
This recording by the Kammerchor Stuttgart under the direction of Frieder Bernius features ten songs by Richard Strauss into which Gottwald breathes a choral soul with seemingly infinite creativity. These are complemented by a stunning 16-part transcription of the “Adagietto” from Gustav Mahler’s 5th Symphony. Listeners are also treated to an original composition, namely Friede auf Erden (Peace on Earth), one of the few choral works of the Second Viennese School, presented here in the year of Arnold Schoenberg’s 150th birthday.
With this program, the Kammerchor Stuttgart once again confirms its position as one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles.
Contents
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Composer
Richard Strauss
| 1864-1949The son of musician Franz Joseph Strauss and his wife Josephine began composing at the age of six, and by his 18th birthday he had already written around 140 pieces, including almost 60 songs and over 40 piano works. His stellar career began in 1881 with his opus 1, the Festive March for large orchestra. In 1886, Strauss took up a position as third conductor at the Court Opera in his hometown of Munich. There he had time to deepen his repertoire. In the following four years, he composed numerous songs, including Ständchen op. 17,2, which was published by Carus-Verlag together with Von dunklem Schleier umsponnen op. 17,4 and Nicht im Schlafe hab ich das geträumt op. 48,1. In 1905 and many song compositions later, the already celebrated Richard Strauss also wrote a success story with an opera. The opera adaptation of Oscar Wild's Salome, whose text Strauss himself translated into German, is regarded by his fans as the epitome of modern opera music. Personal details
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Arranger
Clytus Gottwald
| 1925-2023The choral conductor, composer and musicologist Clytus Gottwald (1925 - 2023) made significant contributions to contemporary choral music. As editor for New Music at Südfunk Stuttgart and founder and director of the Schola Cantorum Stuttgart, he was in productive exchange with his contemporaries, Pierre Boulez, Mauricio Kagel, György Ligeti, Luigi Nono, Karlheinz Stockhausen and many others. With his Schola Cantorum, a 16-voice chamber vocal ensemble, Gottwald decisively shaped the a cappella choral culture of the highest technical level that is taken for granted today. Clytus Gottwald's transcriptions of piano songs and instrumental pieces for unaccompanied choir are appreciated by choirs all over the world. Modelled on the style of Ligeti, his works set the highest of musical standards. Clytus Gottwald has received several awards for his services, including the Cultural Prize of Baden-Württemberg in 2009, the European Church Music Prize in 2012, and the Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2014. His importance for the development of contemporary choral music cannot be overestimated. Personal details
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Choir
Kammerchor Stuttgart
The Kammerchor Stuttgart is regarded as one of the best ensembles of its kind. Over its fifty-year existence, Frieder Bernius has developed the choir into an exceptional ensemble acclaimed by audiences and press alike. This has led to invitations for the choir to perform at all the important European festivals. In Germany the chamber choir performs at festivals and in concert halls in repertoire ranging from the 17th to the 21st century. Frieder Bernius and his ensemble have received numerous accolades for their contribution to new music. The Kammerchor Stuttgart has made over 80 CDs and LPs, numerous of which have been awarded international recording prizes (including the Edison award, Diapason d’or, Gramophone Choice, Classical Internet Award, International Classical Music Award, and German Record Critics’ Award prizes). The International Federation for Choral Music has invited the ensemble to sing at the 1st, 4th and 10th World Symposia on Choral Music in Vienna, Sydney and Seoul. Regular tours of North America and Asia since 1988 and a South America tour reflect the Kammerchor Stuttgart’s international reputation. Since 1984 the top ensemble has also been invited to Israel biennially. Personal details
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Conductor
Frieder Bernius
| 1947Frieder Bernius’s work has earned great worldwide recognition. He is in demand internationally as a conductor and as a teacher. His principal artistic collaborators are the ensembles he founded himself, the Kammerchor Stuttgart, the Barockorchester Stuttgart, the Hofkapelle Stuttgart and the Klassische Philharmonie Stuttgart. As a guest conductor, he has collaborated repeatedly with, for example, the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester and the Streicherakademie Bozen. Great stylistic versatility is Frieder Bernius’s hallmark. Whether he conducts vocal works by Monteverdi, Bach, Händel, Mozart, Beethoven, Fauré and Ligeti, stage music by Mendelssohn or symphonies by Haydn, Burgmüller and Schubert, his work always aims for a sound that is at once unmistakably personal and at the same time oriented towards the original period sound ideal. He devotes himself equally to the rediscovery of 18th century operas and to first performances of contemporary compositions. He is particularly interested in the musical history of southwestern Germany. Carus-Verlag has awarded Frieder Bernius a Golden CD for his complete recording of the sacred music of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. The award was presented to him during the German Choir Festival in Stuttgart 2016. The sale of over 250,000 recordings, which has been acclaimed with a number of awards, has made a not insignificant contribution to what today is the obvious presence of Mendelssohn's complete œuvre in the concert repertoire. Personal details
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Soloist - harp
Florian Pedarnig
Reviews
Wer kann ein dermaßen anspruchsvolles Programm in einer Weise einspielen, dass das Ergebnis den Hörer*innen nicht nur Mühe bereitet? … Die Klangreise ist geprägt von Spannung und Klarheit und macht Lust auf mehr...
Singende Kirche, 12/2024
Die Liedarrangements von Clytus Gottwald … sind … in ihrer Qualität nach wie vor einzigartig. … Arnold Schönbergs „Friede auf Erden“, gesungen … in betörender Durchsichtigkeit und ohne jede Schwere.
Chor aktuell, 12/2024
… wie hier in blitzsauberer Intonation die paradoxe Beziehung zwischen Weltfrieden und A-cappella-Freiheit ausgereizt wird. … Eine Harfe … befördert Gottwalds Arrangement einen Schritt zurück zum Original…
Susanne Benda, Fono Forum, 11/2024
Das Album enthält eine der faszinierendsten, mit beseelter Brillianz gestalteten Arrangement-Ideen. … erstklassige Gesamtwirkung.
Roland H. Dippel, Concerti, 10/2024