Rheingauer Kantorei

(Rheingau chorale), now , is a mixed choir of the region in Germany, performing mostly sacred music in services and concerts.

Frank Stähle

The choir was founded in 1977 by Frank Stähle as the choir of the (Protestant deanery Wiesbaden-Rheingau), merging two groups, the church choir of the Protestant parish in Geisenheim and singers from Wiesbaden. The purpose of the choir was to sing in church services of the region and to sing oratorios in concert. Main venues for the concerts were the and the in Geisenheim. The groups rehearsed separately in Geisenheim and performed the concerts together.

In 1978, the choir performed Handel's ' in the and the Lutherkirche in Wiesbaden, and ' by Johannes Brahms in Geisenheim and the .

In 1979, Bach's ''St Matthew Passion'' was performed in St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden and in Worms, in a collaboration with the ''Wormser '' (itinerant youth choir). Mendelssohn's ''Elias'' was performed with the in Geisenheim and the . Erich Wenk sang the title part, Klesie Kelly the soprano parts.

In 1980, the Geisenheim group performed Buxtehude's ' in Geisenheim. The complete group sang Honegger's ' in the , with the , and soloists Klesie Kelly, Claudia Eder as both young David and the Witch of Endor, and Gerd Nienstedt as the narrator.

A concert on 13 June 1981 combined Palestrina's ', performed by selected voices under assistant conductor Horst Werner, and Bruckner's Mass No. 2 in E minor for eight-part choir and brass. On 21 November 1981, the choir performed in the Marktkirche Bach's Mass in B minor as part of the (Fourth Wiesbaden Bach Weeks), organized by Martin Lutz.

Horst Werner

Stähle, who was director of from 1979, passed the choir to Horst Werner, who had studied at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt with Helmuth Rilling. He first conducted Haydn's ''Harmoniemesse'' and Bach's cantata ''Wachet! betet! betet! wachet!'' BWV 70, with Christoph Prégardien as a soloist. In 1983, excerpts from the ' by Schütz were combined with Mozart's '. In a second concert, the group sang Schubert's Mass No. 6 in E-flat major.

In 1985, the choir performed Karol Szymanowski's and Leoš Janáček' ''Glagolitic Mass'' with organist Elisabeth Maranca and the .

In 1986, the choir used the balconies of the to perform several settings of the Magnificat, including some polychoral compositions, followed by a concert of Mozart's Requiem with the . Helmut Hampel reported for the ''Wiesbadener Kurier'' that the was shattering and of eerie density.

In 1987, the choir performed the second of the four versions of Bach's ''St John Passion'', as the opening of four Passion compositions by four Wiesbaden-based choirs, including Bach's ''St Matthew Passion'' with the . Hampel noted in a review that Werner, also a musicologist, supplied solid historic background for the second version in the program notes and a preceding lecture, and that he managed to fill the choruses with energy, in diction and even more in dramatic expression. A second concert presented the Mass in A major by César Franck, and in a third concert Bruckner's Mass No. 3 in F minor, again with the .

Tassilo Schlenther – Neue Rheingauer Kantorei

A new choir, building on the tradition, was founded by Tassilo Schlenther in 2002, again expanding the choir of the Geisenheim protestantic parish. Venues for concerts have been the , the basilica of , the basilica of Mittelheim, the Protestant church in Geisenheim and the .

The group, not yet under the name, collaborated with the choirs of St. Martin, Idstein, performing in 1996 Rutter's Magnificat, in 1999 Puccini's and in 2001 Rutter's Requiem and Britten's ''The Company of Heaven'' for speakers, soloists, chorus and orchestra, all performed both in Idstein and Johannisberg. In 2009, the Neue Rheingauer Kantorei performed Haydn's ''Die Schöpfung'' with soloists Elisabeth Scholl, Daniel Sans and Andreas Pruys. Services included an Easter Vigil in Eberbach Abbey in 2013. The choir participated in a television portrait of the Hessischer Rundfunk about the Rheingau region by Günter Wewel, in the series . A concert in 2014, performed in the Geisenheim Protestant church, was dedicated to contemporary Scandinavian music including works by Ola Gjeilo and Knut Nystedt. 2014 also saw a remarkable performance of Verdi's Requiem. A reviewer noted the choir's flexibility to sing different styles of music.

References

External links

Frank Stähle
Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium

Horst Werner
corodelcastello.de

Neue Rheingauer Kantorei
Official website
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German choirs
Musical groups established in 1977
Musical groups established in 2002
Musical groups from Wiesbaden