Mensch, werde wesentlich – Man become important

ADOLF BRUNNER — SACRED WORKS

IRIS-ANNA DECKERT, SOPRAN
TOBIAS WILLI, ORGEL
ENSEMBLE CANTISSIMO
MARKUS UTZ

Adolf Brunner (1901 – 1992) was a highly versatile and important figure who is still remembered in Switzerland as a politician, philosopher, liturgist, and composer. This new recording of Brunner’s sacred works is performed by ensemble cantissimo and appears in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of his death.

Release: May 2017

ALBUM DETAILS

CD-Content

01 from 16 Spruchmotetten zu den Festtagen im Kirchenjahr (1956 – 60): Advent
02 from Drei Eingangsspiele für Orgel (1960):Weihnachten
03 from 16 Spruchmotetten:Weihnacht
04 from Drei Eingangsspiele für Orgel:Passion
05 from 16 Spruchmotetten:Karfreitag
06 from Drei Eingangsspiele für Orgel:Ostern
07 from 16 Spruchmotetten:Ostern

Missa a cappella (1934):
08 Kyrie
09 Gloria
10 Credo
11 Sanctus
12 Benedictus
13 Agnus Dei

14 Geistliches Konzert »Jesus und die Ehebrecherin«

Acht Sprüche nach Angelus Silesius (1947)
15 – 1. Mensch, werde wesentlich
16 – 2. Die Ros ist ohn’ Warum
17 – 3. Freund, so Du etwas bist
18 – 4. Das Brot ernährt uns nicht
19 – 5. Lass doch nicht ab von Gott
20 – 6. Die Schönheit lieb ich sehr
21 – 7. Lieb üben hat viel Müh
22 – 8. Christ, flieh doch nicht das Kreuz
Total Time: 65:40

Texts in German and English (36 pages)

P+C 2017 Spektral, LC 15543
Best.-Nr. SRL4-17156
EAN: 4260130381561

ARTISTS

Iris-Anna Deckert

Iris-Anna Deckert was born in Straubling, and while still in school was already receiving voice lessons at the University of Church Music in Regensburg. She went on to study with Dorothea Chryst at the Leopold Mozart Conservatory in Augsburg, where she completed her Staatsexamen in vocal performance. She was also the recipient of a scholarship from the German Theatre Association. Further studies with Edith Urbanzcyk and Aribert Reimann (lied singing) followed at the University of the Arts in Berlin. She also devoted time to studying Early Music, a pursuit that led her to Innsbruck and London with Jessica Cash and Nigel Rogers.While still in university, Deckert began to gain performing experience by singing in the Stuttgart Chamber Choir (conducted by Frieder Bernius) and the Bavarian Opera Chorus. More recently she has often been working as a replacement for Sibylla Rubens. As an international soloist Deckert commands a broad repertoire, and appearances at important European festivals bear witness to her wide-ranging artistic abilities. She is much in demand as an ensemble singer and works regularly with well-known groups such as the RIAS Chamber Choir and the Balthasar Neumann Choir. She especially enjoys working with Gli- Scarlattisti and ensemble cantissimo. She is a founding member of the latter group and has been closely associated with them for many years.
Deckert is noted for her interesting programming and has made many radio and compact disc recording of rarities and rediscoveries that go beyond the usual repertoire. She is also active as a vocal pedagogue and works as a vocal coach for the Zwitscherkantorei der Münstermusik in Constance as well as the Constance Chamber Choir.

Tobias Willi

Tobias Willi was born in 1976 and studied at the University of Music in Basel from 1997 to 2003. While there, he earned pedagogy and performing degrees in organ (both with distinction) under Guy Bovet. He also studied piano with Heinz Björlin and Jürg Wyttenbach, from whom he received his piano pedagogy degree with distinction. Between the autumn of 2003 and the summer of 2005, Willi continued his organ studies through the “Cycle de Perfectionement” program at the Conservatoire National Supérieur et de Danse de Paris with Olivier Latry and Michel Bouvard.
Tobias Willi has been chief organist at the Johanneskirche in Zurich since January, 2015. He also concertizes regularly as an organ soloist in Switzerland and abroad, and has appeared at the Lucerne Festival (2004), Toulouse-les-Orgues (2010), Présences Festival in Paris (2005), Feldkirch Festival (2009), RadioKulturhaus in Vienna (2010), Festival di Treviso (2012), Notre-Dame in Paris, Fulda Cathedral, Freiburg Minster, and the Cathedrals of Bourges and Monaco. He also appeared in Haifa and Jerusalem in 2012, Bordeaux and Riga in 2015, and the Mariinsky Concert Hall in St. Petersburg in 2016.
His repertoire focuses above all on music from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries. There have been many premieres of works by composers such as Jean-Pierre Leguay, Michel Roth, Valéry Aubertin, Raphaël Gogniat, Michael Schneider, Mattias Steinauer, Hans-Jürg Meier, Jürg Wyttenbach, and Junghae Lee. He has formed a duo with the Viennese saxophonist Lars Mlekusch, and together they devote their energies especially to contemporary music. In this context they also commission works from young composers. In the 2014-15 concert season, Tobias Willi presented the complete organ works of Olivier Messiaen in six concerts.
Other artistic endeavours include interdisciplinary work and connect organ music with film, poetry, etc. Tobias Willi has held a position as professor of organ performance and improvisation at the Zurich University of the Arts since February, 2010.

Seit Januar 2015 ist Tobias Willi Hauptorganist an der Johanneskirche in Zürich. Daneben konzertiert er regelmässig als Orgelsolist in der Schweiz und im Ausland (Lucerne Festival 2004, Toulouse-les-Orgues 2004, Festival „Présences“ 2005 in Paris, Feldkirch Festival 2009, im Radiokulturhaus Wien 2010, am Festival di Treviso 2012, in Notre-Dame de Paris, im Dom zu Fulda und im Freiburger Münster, in den Kathedralen von Bourges und Monaco, 2012 in Haifa und Jerusalem, 2015 in Bordeaux und Riga, 2016 in der Mariinsky Concert Hall St. Petersburg etc.).

Die Musik des 19. bis 21. Jahrhunderts bildet einen Schwerpunkt seines Wirkens; davon zeugen zahlreiche Uraufführungen (Jean-Pierre Leguay, Michel Roth, Valéry Aubertin, Raphaël Gogniat, Michael Schneider, Mattias Steinauer, Hans-Jürg Meier, Jürg Wyttenbach, Junghae Lee u.a.). Im »Duo Iridolon« mit dem Wiener Saxophonisten Lars Mlekusch widmet sich Tobias Willi ganz besonders dem zeitgenössischen Musikschaffen, auch durch die Vergabe von Kompositionsaufträgen an junge Komponisten. In der Konzertsaison 2014/15 brachte Tobias Willi das Gesamtwerk für Orgel von Olivier Messiaen in 6 Konzerten zur Aufführung. Verschiedene Projekte in seinem künstlerischen Schaffen sind zudem der interdisziplinären Arbeit gewidmet und verbinden Orgelmusik mit Film, Poesie u. a.

Seit Februar 2010 unterrichtet Tobias Willi als Professor für künstlerisches Orgelspiel sowie für Improvisation an der Zürcher Hochschule der Künste.

ensemble cantissimo

Founded in 1994, ensemble cantissimo is one of the most sought-after vocal ensembles in the German-speaking world. The name speaks for itself: cantissimo is synonymous with a cappella singing. Along with the usual performances of older music, a primary interest has always been the discovery of unperformed music that lies outside the regular repertoire. With its distinctive interpretations and exciting choice of programmes, the choir, with singers from Germany and Switzerland, conducted by Markus Utz, has thrilled audiences and critics alike. Regular invitations to leading music festivals and a close collaboration with radio stations reflect the high regard the ensemble’s vocal artistry is held in. Rarities of rediscovered choral music also feature on cantissimo’s numerous CD recordings. These include sacred works by Mozart’s teacher Giovanni Battista Martini (2007) and the Marian cycle Mater Dei by Freiburg composer Franz Philipp (2008) produced in collaboration with SWR. A co-production with BR, I Himmelen, with Scandinavian choral music was released in 2010. In 2011 Carus-Verlag Stuttgart engaged the ensemble for the first recording of the choral works of Heinrich von Herzogenberg, a contemporary of Brahms.

www.cantissimo.de

Markus Utz

Markus Utz has been a professor of conducting and choral directing at the University of the Arts in Zurich since 2007. From 2001 to 2008 he served as regional cantor and music director of the Constance Cathedral, where he still continues working as an organist. He studied in Munich, Detmold and Stockholm with Gerhard Weinberger, Anders Eby, Stefan Parkman, Eric Ericson, and others. He has competed successfully as an organist and has also received conducting grants from the Scandinavian Bach Academy, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and was a finalist in the 2003 Eric Ericson Award. One of the most successful young German choral conductors of today, both in Germany and abroad, Markus Utz has established a formidable presence in the music world with his ensemble cantissimo and is noted for performances that are both refined and full of character. In addition to his activities as professor and organist, he has been invited to teach courses and serve on juries in the United States, Sweden, Italy, France, Germany, Israel, and Switzerland. He has also guest conducted many well-known choral groups.