A male choir breaks new ground
In mid-March, the viril Surses choir performed the "Rieischs" concert project in Savognin, Chur and Bern.
Rainer Heldwho conducts this venerable Graubünden choir, which often wins awards at singing festivals, had already started planning in 2018. However, the coronavirus pandemic temporarily paralyzed the "Rieischs" (German for roots) project. Now, finally, the Choir viril Surses with the Graubünden Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra and the bass-baritone Flurin Caduff as a soloist to a broad public.
New work for a timeless sense of home
From the outset, the idea was to symphonically arrange Romansh songs on the theme of "roots", not only from the past but also from today. The main work commissioned by the choir is a 40-minute new composition by Philip Henzi and is entitled Rieisch's Surmiranas. The area where the choir comes from is called "Surmeir". Henzi is a very accomplished composer and arranger, he conducts the Swiss Jazz Orchestra and teaches jazz at the music academies in Bern and Lausanne.
For this piece, a small group of singers first went in search of suitable folk songs. Seven out of 20 were selected and arranged by Henzi for his work. Three new a cappella compositions were woven into these seven arrangements, which the men's choir commissioned from young musicians from Graubünden: Katharina Mayer (*1982), Mario Pacchioli (*1981) and Flavio Bundi (*1987). Poems by the young Grisons composer Dominique Caglia-Dosch (*1995) were set to music.
Gradually, a complete work was created with the dramaturgy "Singing the praises of home - going abroad - living there and putting down roots or coming home with great homesickness and longing - singing the praises of home again". Placing the theme of love of one's homeland at the center is perfectly suited to the people of Graubünden. Not only do they have a wonderful home in the mountains, they also sing about it joyfully to this day.
Impressive totality
The performance on March 17 in the sold-out Martinskirche Chur turned out to be a real event. The sound power and agility of the choir was remarkable, and the Romanesque language lent the music a slightly archaic tone. Flurin Caduff stood out impressively from the sonorous, well-balanced choral sound with his warm, radiant bass-baritone.
Henzi's treatment of the traditional songs is refreshingly simple and harmonically and rhythmically refined. In any case, the choir and orchestra mastered this music perfectly. And although the three new a cappella pieces each had their own signature, they fitted harmoniously into the whole. The audience thanked them for this original and impressive evening with a standing ovation. Radio SRF recorded the concert.
