Does that go together – choir music and Argentinean tango? Most definitely, yes! You can see and hear it for yourself when the University of Bremen Choir performs three concerts to round off the Winter Semester. During these performances, all aspects of choir singing come to the fore: Powerful sound, emotional presence, urgency and strength. The University’s musical director, Susanne Gläß, and Juan María Solare, leader of the University’s Tango Orchestra, came up with the idea and got together to compose the music. The result is a tango series composed exclusively for the University Choir – and the outcome is certainly worth listening to.
Caissa is the muse of chess
A native Argentinean, Juan María Solare has been living for about 15 years in the Bremen region, moving freely as composer and pianist between Tango Argentino and New Music. He composed his tango series called “Caissas Gedächtnis” with a four- to eight-voice choir and piano in mind. “Caissa” is the muse of chess. The lyrics for the composition are based on notions taken from the world of chess, which may also be grasped as ciphers for life in general. The work combines the concentration called for in chess with the rhythmic tension of modern Tango Argentino that culminates in a vibrant piece of choir music. The Karin and Uwe Hollweg Foundation granted the University the funds to realize the composition.
400 contributors
The premiere forms part of the end-of-semester concerts “Music from Latin America”, in which beside the University Choir, the University‘s Orchestra and Tango Orchestra as well as the Popchor of the University of Art also participate with their own half-hour contributions. The large symphonic orchestra directed by Susanne Gläß will play Mexican music, including Márquez’s enchanting Danzón No. 2. The Popchor led by Micha Keding will sing popular Brazilian Bossa Nova songs like “Black Orpheus”. Juan María Solare contributes not only as the composer of “Caissas Gedächtnis”, but also as leader of the Tango Orchestra with Argentinean tangos from 1898 to the present day. The audience can look forward to a stunning musical experience that took almost 400 people and three different composers to prepare.
Concert dates and venues for “Music from Latin America”
- Saturday, 4th July, 8.00 pm, Gutsscheune Stuhr/Varrel, tickets 12 euros, reduced 8 euros, VVK Nordwestticket and Rathaus Stuhr (without Popchor)
- Sunday, 5th July, 7.00 pm, garden of Haus am Walde (in case of bad weather in the GW1 auditorium of the University /opposite the Universum), Entry free, donations welcome
- Thursday, 16th July, 7.30 pm, dance floor at the Breminale (only the University Choir with “Caissas Gedächtnis”)
Entry free.
For more information, feel free to contact:
University of Bremen
Dr. Susanne Gläß, University Musical Director
Phone: +49 421 218 60109
e-mail: sglaessprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
www.uni-bremen.de/orchester-chor
