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Kurt Widmer
Kurt Widmer (28 December 1940 – 31 May 2023) was a Swiss baritone and voice teacher, who appeared and recorded internationally. He focused on concert singing, especially of oratorios from the Romantic period. His recordings cover a repertoire from medieval mass to world premieres, such as song cycles by György Kurtág, and received international awards. He taught at the City of Basel Music Academy from 1968, influencing notable soloists including Nuria Rial and his son, Oliver Widmer. Career Born in Wil, Canton of St. Gallen, Widmer first studied to be a teacher at the Lehrerseminar in Rorschach, and taught in Bronschhofen. He then studied violin and voice at the Zürich Conservatory with Ria Ginster, and took master classes with Franziska Martienssen-Lohmann and her husband Paul Lohmann in Lucerne and Wiesbaden. From 1966, Widmer performed in concert in Switzerland and internationally, with a focus on oratorios from the Romantic period. He was a soloist with Der Gemischt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), Saint-Louis (FR-68), Weil am Rhein (DE-BW) , twintowns = Shanghai, Miami Beach , website = www.bs.ch Basel ( , ), also known as Basle ( ),french: Bâle ; it, Basilea ; rm, label=Sutsilvan, Basileia; other rm, Basilea . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zürich and Geneva) with about 175,000 inhabitants. The official language of Basel is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local Basel German dialect. Basel is commonly considered to be the cultural capital of Switzerland and the city is famous for its many museums, including the Kunstmuseum, which is the first collection of art accessible t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label= Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the district of the same name. With a population of approximately 82,000 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and a nexus of economics, transportation, culture, and media in the region. The city's urban area consists of 19 municipalities and towns with an overall population of about 220,000 people. Owing to its location on the shores of Lake Lucerne (german: Vierwaldstättersee) and its outflow, the river Reuss, within sight of the mounts Pilatus and Rigi in the Swiss Alps, Lucerne has long been a destination for tourists. One of the city's landmarks is the Chapel Bridge (german: Kapellbrücke, link=no), a wooden bridge first erected in the 14th century. The official lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Le Laudi
''Le Laudi'' (''The Praises''), Op. 25, is an oratorio by the Swiss composer Hermann Suter. The full title is ''Le Laudi di San Francesco d'Assisi (Cantico delle creature)'' (''The Praises of St. Francis of Assisi (Canticle of the Creatures))''. The text is Francis of Assisi's Canticle of the Sun in the original Italian. Suter scored the work for soloists, choir, children's choir, organ and large orchestra. It was premiered in 1924, with the composer conducting the Basler Gesangverein on the occasion of its centenary. The oratorio of around 70 minutes is one of Suter's most important works and has been championed by conductors such as Wilhelm Furtwängler, who conducted the first performance in Vienna in 1926 and further performances in Europe. Although now performed relatively rarely elsewhere, it has been presented regularly in Switzerland. It was also recorded in 1991 and 2007. History Suter composed the oratorio to mark the 100th anniversary of the (Basel Choral Societ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Requiem (Verdi)
The ''Messa da Requiem'' is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass (Requiem) for four soloists, double choir and orchestra by Giuseppe Verdi. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, whom Verdi admired. The first performance, at the San Marco church in Milan on 22 May 1874, marked the first anniversary of Manzoni's death. The work was at one time referred to as the Manzoni Requiem. Considered too operatic to be performed in a liturgical setting, it is usually given in concert form of around 90 minutes in length. Musicologist David Rosen calls it "probably the most frequently performed major choral work composed since the compilation of Mozart's Requiem". Composition history After Gioachino Rossini's death in 1868, Verdi suggested that a number of Italian composers collaborate on a ''Requiem'' in Rossini's honor. He began the effort by submitting the concluding movement, the " Libera me". During the next year a '' Messa per Rossini'' was compiled by Verdi and twe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stabat Mater (Dvořák)
Antonín Dvořák's Stabat Mater, Op. 58 ( B. 71), is an extended setting for vocal soloists, choir and orchestra of the 20 stanzas of the Stabat Mater sequence. Dvořák sketched the composition in 1876 and completed it in 1877. It has been characterized as a sacred cantata and as an oratorio, and consists of ten movements of which only the first and the last are thematically connected. Its total performance time is around 85 minutes. The work was first performed in Prague in 1880. N. Simrock published Dvořák's Op. 58 in 1881. In 1882, Leoš Janáček conducted a performance of the work in Brno. The work was performed in London in 1883, and again, in the Royal Albert Hall, in 1884, and thus played a crucial role in Dvořák's international breakthrough as a composer. In the 21st century the Stabat Mater continues to be Dvořák's best known, and most often performed, sacred work. History How Dvořák started to compose his Stabat Mater in February 1876 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ein Deutsches Requiem
''A German Requiem, to Words of the Holy Scriptures'', Op. 45 (german: Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift, links=no) by Johannes Brahms, is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, a soprano and a baritone soloist, composed between 1865 and 1868. It comprises seven movements, which together last 65 to 80 minutes, making this work Brahms's longest composition. ''A German Requiem'' is sacred but non-liturgical, and unlike a long tradition of the Latin Requiem, ''A German Requiem'', as its title states, is a ''Requiem'' in the German language. History Brahms's mother died in February 1865, a loss that caused him much grief and may well have inspired ''Ein deutsches Requiem''. Brahms's lingering feelings over Robert Schumann's death in July 1856 may also have been a motivation, though his reticence about such matters makes this uncertain. His original conception was for a work of six movements; according to their eventual places in the final version, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Der Tod Jesu
''Der Tod Jesu'' (''The Death of Jesus'') is an oratorio libretto by Karl Wilhelm Ramler. In its setting by Carl Heinrich Graun in 1755, it was the most often performed Passion of the 18th century in Germany. The poem is part of the '' Empfindsamkeit'' movement of the 1750s. It is the middle of three oratorio texts by Ramler – ''Die Hirten bei der Krippe zu Bethlehem'', ''Der Tod Jesu'', and ''Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt'' – which may have been viewed by Ramler as a libretto cycle, though they were never set as a cycle by any composer. The libretto was intended for Graun but a copy of Ramler's text was somehow received by Telemann who produced his own setting of the oratorio (TWV 5:6) in Hamburg before Graun could perform the premiere in Berlin. Ramler revised his text in 1760. The text is not a full retelling of the Passion of Christ and it does not quote Bible texts. Instead, it presents emotively various aspects of the Passion. Settings * Georg Philipp Telemann, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St John Passion Structure
The structure of the ''St John Passion'' (german: Johannes-Passion, link=no), BWV 245, a sacred oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, is "carefully designed with a great deal of musico-theological intent". Some main aspects of the structure are shown in tables below. The original Latin title translates to "Passion according to John". Bach's large choral composition in two parts on German text, written to be performed in a Lutheran service on Good Friday, is based on the Passion, as told in two chapters from the Gospel of John ( and ) in the translation by Martin Luther, with two short interpolations from the Gospel of Matthew (in the earliest version, one is from the Gospel of Matthew and one from the Gospel of Mark). During the vespers service, the two parts of the work were performed before and after the sermon. Part I covers the events until Peter's denial of Jesus, Part II concludes with the burial of Jesus. The Bible text is reflected in contemporary poetry and in chorales t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Matthew Passion Structure
Johann Sebastian Bach's ''St Matthew Passion'' (), , is structured on multiple levels: the composition is structured in three levels of text sources (Gospel, libretto and chorales) and by the different forms that are used for musical expression (arias, recitatives and choruses). Bach's large choral composition was written to present the Passion, as told in the Gospel of Matthew, in a vespers service on Good Friday. It is composed in two parts, that were to be performed before and after the sermon of that service. Part I covers the events until the arrest of Jesus and Part II concludes with his burial and the sealing of his grave. Bach took the Gospel text for the composition from Martin Luther's German translation of and . Contemporary poetry in Picander's libretto and chorales comment on the Bible text and open and close most scenes of the narration. Numbering of the movements Bach did not number the sections of the ''St Matthew Passion'' but twentieth-century scholars have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurt Huber (tenor)
Kurt Huber (born 4 May 1937) is a Swiss tenor for concert and Lieder. Career Born in Zürich, Kurt Huber studied voice in Vienna with Anton Dermota.Kurt Huber on bach-cantatas He performed solo parts in works of , especially the Evangelist in his and s. On 19 March 1967 he performed the Evangelist in the '' |
Elisabeth Speiser
Elisabeth Speiser (born 1 October 1940) is a Swiss classical soprano, known principally for singing ''Lieder'' but also active in opera. She has appeared internationally. Biography Born in Zürich, Speiser appeared in concert from 1960. She was a regular soloist with the choir Der Gemischte Chor Zürich. Performances included Bach's cantata ''Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild'', BWV 79, and Beethoven's Mass in C major in 1967, Mozart's Requiem and '' Vesperae solennes'' in 1968, ''Ein deutsches Requiem'' by Brahms in 1969, Arthur Honegger's ''Totentanz'' in 1970, Haydn's ''Nelson Mass'' the same year, Hermann Suter's ''Le Laudi'' in 1972, alongside Marga Höffgen, Kurt Huber and Kurt Widmer, Frank Martin's ''Golgotha'' in 1972 and 1975, Cherubini's Missa solemnis in 1977. Speiser appeared in 1969 as Sandrina in the first recording of Haydn's opera ''L'infedeltà delusa'', conducted by Antonio de Almeida. She was Euridice in Gluck's ''Orfeo ed Euridice'' at the Glyndebourne F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mass In C Major (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven composed the Mass in C major, Op. 86, to a commission from Prince Nikolaus Esterházy II in 1807. The mass, scored for four vocal soloists, choir and orchestra, was premiered that year by the Prince's musical forces in Eisenstadt. Beethoven performed parts of it in his 1808 concert featuring the premieres of four major works including his Fifth Symphony. The mass was published in 1812 by Breitkopf & Härtel. Both the Prince and contemporary critic E. T. A. Hoffmann were generally displeased by the work, though the latter still considered it "entirely worthy of the great master ecause of itsinner structure ndintelligent orchestration". The work has since been overshadowed by the later and better known Missa solemnis, though critics such as Michael Moore have noted the Mass in C major's superiority in "directness and an emotional content". History and composition Beethoven had studied counterpoint in Vienna with Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, an autho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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