Anton-Webern-Chor Freiburg

The Anton-Webern-Chor Freiburg is a professional vocal ensemble consisting of 8 to 24 singers, according to the program. In spite of its name, the Anton-Webern-Chor is not an ensemble specializing in new music. On the contrary – and entirely in the spirit of the compositional thinking of its namesake which was firmly rooted in tradition –, it cultivates the entire range of vocal ensemble music from renaissance to avant-garde. This versatility in no way implies foregoing a thorough study of the epochal-stylistic and foundations of performance practice for each particular composition; rather it corresponds with the experience that a widening of the angle of historical perception is just as conducive to the understanding and emotional comprehension of the music, and indeed equally necessary as focusing on each specific piece. Accordingly, the Anton-Webern-Chor has not only studied intensely such a variety of works as, for example, Monteverdi’s Marian Vespers, Bach’s B Minor Mass, Mozart’s Requiem, Rossini’s Petite Messe, Brahms’ a cappella works, Webern’s cantatas and choral compositions by Ligeti, Nono, Zender, Holliger and Rihm; from time to time, there were also programs in which musical works from several centuries were performed in multifaceted reflection of each other. Frequently, literary texts provided the axis of such reflections. One of the consequences of this content-based concept was – and remains – the opportunity, apart from concertizing in the customary environment, to explore ever new forms of performance and communication and in so doing, collaborate with artists from neighboring genres.