Emotional depth
Chamber choir and Collegium Musicum Weimar perform Dvořák's ‘Stabat Mater’ in Erfurt and Weimar
One of the most important sacred works in music history will be performed twice in Thuringia. The chamber choir of the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar and the Collegium Musicum Weimar will perform Antonín Dvořák's monumental ‘Stabat Mater’ op. 58 in a joint choral-symphonic concert project on Friday, 31 January at 7:00 pm in the Thomaskirche Erfurt and on Saturday, 1 February at 6:00 pm in the Stadtkirche St.Peter and Paul (Herderkirche) in Weimar. Admission is free.
The soloists are Lisa Schmidt (soprano), Veronika Tokareva (alto), Felix Stöppler (tenor) and Joel Andreasson (bass). P. Mauricio Sotelo-Romero will be the artistic director of the ten-movement work for soloists, choir and orchestra, conducting the Collegium Musicum and Chamber Choir.
Antonín Dvořák's life and work were marked by strokes of fate in 1875 and 1876: within a short period of time, the composer lost three of his children. In the midst of his grief, he began work on his first liturgical sacred work, the ‘Stabat Mater’. The medieval text, which describes Mary as the grieving mother of Jesus on the cross, becomes the emotional and spiritual basis for Dvořák.
His musical setting conveys the universal message in a deeply personal and emotional musical language that goes far beyond its Christian symbolism. The work is characterised by its alternation between touching intimacy and monumental sonority.
The Collegium Musicum Weimar, founded in 1994, arose from the desire of music education students to perform demanding symphonic works in an orchestra themselves. The Collegium consists mainly of students of music education and musicology from the Music university in Weimar.
The rehearsals are enriched by students from the Bauhaus University in Weimar, the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, the University of Erfurt and amateur musicians from all over Thuringia. In weekly rehearsals and a rehearsal weekend, the approximately 60 members develop a demanding concert programme per semester.
The Chamber Choir of the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar consists of students specialising in school music, church music and conducting, as well as students from the Bauhaus University Weimar and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena. It was founded as a madrigal choir by Walter Rein in 1926. Prof. Jürgen Puschbeck has been directing the ensemble since 1997.
The choir regularly participates in festivals and competitions, including in Markoberdorf, Graz, and Tours, and has won numerous prizes, such as a 2nd prize at the 2014 German Choir Competition. Concert tours have taken it to Europe, Japan, Israel and the United States. The choir also acts as a cultural ambassador for Thuringia and Germany, for example in concerts for state representations and German embassies.
[23 January 2025]