The Anglistenchor Heidelberg conducted by Alexander Albrecht presents its captivating and musically diverse summer concert under the programmatic title “Sing and Dance”, accompanied on the piano by Yannick Schwencke.
The highlight of the evening will be the choral song cycle From the Bavarian Highlands by Edward Elgar in the original version for choir and piano, which was inspired by a holiday the Elgars spent in Upper Bavaria in autumn 1894. The song texts were written by Elgar’s wife Alice, in the style of Bavarian folk songs and “Schnadahüpfler” – she also gave the songs subtitles in memory of favourite places visited during the holiday. The spectrum ranges from lively dance songs and heartfelt melodies to the pithy final song of the hunters who flock together from all directions in the morning and return home satisfied with their prey in the evening.
The choir also performs Béla Bartók’s Four Slovak Folk Songs in the original language, which is characterised by its lively rhythms and folkloric sounds. Another folk song arrangement is Gustav Holst’s I love my love from the 6 Choral Folksongs op. 36, a love song based on a melody from Cornwall, written in 1916. Finally, the piece Nyon Nyon by the American composer Jake Runestad is particularly worthy of mention. For this piece, Runestad invented fantasy words to achieve different colours with which he creates a diverse soundscape. Through the use of various effects, the choir becomes a full-fledged vocal orchestra. In addition, elements of singing and dancing are combined so that the concert also has a visual component by way of choreographic elements.
In addition, two- and four-hand piano works such as Dmitri Shostakovich’s Fantastic Dances and Antonín Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances will be performed.
The ticket price incl. advance booking fees is € 12 / € 7. Tickets are available at the Heidelberg office of the RNZ at Neugasse 2 and at Zigarren Grimm at Bismarckplatz.