Organization

Conductor

Paul Hillier

Singer

Tenor

Luís Toscano

Jakob Skjoldborg

Soprano

Ann-Christin Wesser-Ingels

ArsNova

Majsang

Denmark

Majsang: Concert

Public

Concert

Approved

The concert has found its title in the golden age composer Friedrich Kuhlau's beautiful movement, which opens the program. Today, Kuhlau is perhaps best remembered as the composer of Elverhøj, but in Peter Rask Madsen's article Den Uheldige Kosmopolit we find this little gem of a biography: "The German-Danish composer ushered in romanticism in Denmark with his operas and worship of Beethoven. In his time, he was a great canon in Copenhagen, but also lifelong challenged by difficult finances and bad opera texts."
That was how it was in Copenhagen during what we today call the Golden Age. A period with an abundance of artistic expression, famous giftedness and difficult personalities such as HC Andersen, Søren Kierkegaard and composers such as CEF Weyse and therefore Kuhlau. No wonder that it is from this period that we have many of our most beloved communal songs and hymns.
The Golden Age typically dates to 1800 – approx. 1850. But can one really say that the golden age somehow ended for Danish choral music? Because as we show in this concert, the development that Kuhlau helped to start never stopped. Today, one can actually speak of a continuing "golden age" for Danish choral music.
This concert therefore contains a golden string of both classical romantic works and music from subsequent generations by, among others, Carl Nielsen, Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen and Bent Sørensen, all the way up to brand new music of our time in the form of a work written for Ars Nova by the award-winning composer Signe Lykke.

English

Koncerten har fundet sin titel i guldalderkomponisten Friedrich Kuhlau smukke sats, som åbner programmet. I dag huskes Kuhlau måske mest som komponisten af Elverhøj, men i Peter Rask Madsens artikel Den Uheldige Kosmopolit finder vi denne lille perle af en biografi: ”Den tysk-danske komponist indvarslede romantikken i Danmark med sine operaer og tilbedelse af Beethoven. I samtiden var han en stor kanon i København, men også livslangt udfordret af vanskelig økonomi og dårlige operatekster.”
Sådan var der i København i det, vi i dag kalder Guldalderen. En periode med en overflod af kunstneriske udfoldelser, berømte begavelse og svære personligheder som H.C. Andersen, Søren Kierkegaard og komponister som C.E.F. Weyse og altså Kuhlau. Intet under, at det er fra denne periode, vi har mange af vores mest elskede fællessange og salmer.
Guldalderen dateres typisk til 1800 – ca. 1850. Men kan man egentlig sige, at guldalderen, nogen side sluttede for dansk kormusik? For som vi viser i denne koncert, stoppede den udvikling, som Kuhlau var med til at starte aldrig. Man kan faktisk i dag tale om en fortsat ”guldalder” for dansk kormusik.
Denne koncert rummer derfor en gylden perlerække af både klassiske romantiske værker og musik fra de efterfølgende generationer af blandt andet Carl Nielsen, Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen og Bent Sørensen, helt op til vor tids helt nye musik i form af et værk, skrevet til Ars Nova af den prisvindende komponist Signe Lykke.

dansk

Majsang by Various, From (2022/2022), Conductor Paul Hillier

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Programme, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues