We are back! After a long silence, the Chamber Choir of Europe can be heard again... We are delighted to be performing alongside Sir Karl Jenkins for a very special project at the Südtirol Musik Festival in Merano, Italy.

The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace

Sir Karl Jenkins

Chamber Choir of Europe (directed by Nicol Matt)

Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano (Bozen) and Trient

The Armed man: A Mass For Peace is one of the most performed contemporary works in the world.

Many sections of the work are worthy of close examination – not least the Agnus Dei and the Sanctus – but it’s the haunting Benedictus that captivates listeners to the greatest extent, leaving them begging for more. Jenkins’s writing for soulful cello is sublime and the heavenly choral accompaniment truly transports you to another place.

Never one to define himself by one set of beliefs, Jenkins uses all sorts of inspirations for the text of The Armed Man, including the Muslim call to prayer, the sixteenth-century 'L’Homme armé' Mass tradition, and ancient religious texts.

Sir Karl Jenkins will be joining the Chamber Choir of Europe and the Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano and Trentino for an unforgettable performance at the Merano Music Festival.

The Chamber Choir of Europe is made up of professional singers from throughout the continent, and guarantees the highest quality and is reputable for its empathetic and passionate choir concerts.

The repertoire of the choir is as diverse as the European culture. It significantly contributes to the development of cultural dialogue and the mutual understanding of the culture and history of the European people.

© Rhys Frampton

In the summer of 2019, we had the great privilege of working and performing together with John Rutter at the European Church Music Festival in Schwäbisch Gmünd.  The SWR radio station broadcast the live concert and with their kind permission we are excited to share the live premiere performance of the beautiful carol “Christ Our Emmanuel” at this festive time of year. Special thanks to John Rutter for his personal introduction.

John Rutter received the European Church Music Prize in Schwäbisch Gmünd.

We were very proud to have taken part in the Singing Day and Gala Concert with the composer himself,  John Rutter and Nicol Matt.

'The opening piece of the Gala concert was Rutter's "Hymn to the creator of light", a work that Rutter composed in 1992 for the inauguration of a church window and dedicated to his colleague Herbert Howells. A work whose seriousness, but also confidence, conveys the chorus enchantingly. Translucent and filigree in the individual voices, with radiant, and aspiring sopranos. Morten Lauridsen's "O nata lux" is also about light - whose infinity the composer describes in long, rising arcs before slowly disappearing. Whether with Elgar's "Lux aeterna", Brahms's "Ave Maria", the latter edited by David Rain for the choir and premiered this evening, or Rutter's "Cantante Domino" - the choir performs lightly and wonderfully agile under Matt's stirring and dynamic conducting. He warmly communicated to the choir and instrumentalist soloists in Whitacre's "The seal lullaby". The choir was beautifully accompanied by Tabea Stadelmaier (flute), Martin Torwarth (oboe), Magdalena Walesch (harp) and organist Peter Kranefoed.

The premiere of Rutter's "Christ our Emanuel" - a composition about the birth of Jesus, a narrative that drove the singers to create an emotional and touching performance.' Gmünder Tagespost 19/07/2019

More Videos from the Gala concert can be found here