Wolfgang Rihm: Et Lux Huelgas Ensemble, Minguet Quartett & Paul Van Nevel

• Wolfgang Rihm (1952-)
• 1Et Lux01:01:30
• Total Runtime01:01:30

Info for Wolfgang Rihm: Et Lux

„Et Lux“ is an alluring and timeless work for vocal ensemble and string quartet by leading German composer Wolfgang Rihm, here receiving its first recording.

The hour-long piece is dedicated to The Hilliard Ensemble and the Arditti Quartet who gave the world premiere in Cologne in November 2009 and its UK premiere later that month at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. This pairing of a vocal group and a string quartet specializing in early music and contemporary music respectively is replicated by the artists on this ECM disc - the Cologne-based Minguet Quartet and the Belgian early music group, the Huelgas Ensemble whose founder, Paul van Nevel, conducts the recording.

„Et Lux“ emerges as if from centuries ago, and reflects upon the musical processes that have shaped it, including the ritual of the requiem: 'What we have is not music remembered but music remembering.' It incorporates text fragments of the Latin Requiem Mass, which appear as components of a progressively realized whole. 'Great significance is displayed by the reappearance of specific groups of words, for example 'et lux perpetua luceat' (and let perpetual light shine upon them). Through circling reflection the comforting yet disturbing meaning of the words may become perceptible.'

Reviewing the premiere performance the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung praised the work's interwoven musical and linguistic elements while the Daily Telegraph said of its UK premiere: 'Beautifully paced and very moving'. 'Et Lux' was recorded in February 2014 in Antwerp. The CD booklet includes an introductory statement by Wolfgang Rihm, and liner notes by Paul Griffiths and Wolfgang Schreiber.

Huelgas Ensemble:
Axel le Bernage, soprano
Sabine Lutzenberger, soprano
Terry Wey, tenor
Achim Schulz, tenor
Stefan Berghammer, tenor
Matthew Vine, tenor
Tim Whitheley, bass
Guillaume Orly, bass
Minguet Quartett:
Ulrich Isfort, violin
Annette Reisinger, violin
Aroa Sorin, viola
Matthias Diener, cello
Paul van Nevel, conductor

Huelgas Ensemble
For over forty years the Huelgas Ensemble has been one of the most celebrated ensembles specialising in the performance of polyphonic music from the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The ensemble is well known worldwide for its inventive programming, particularly of unknown masterpieces, delighting audiences again and again with fresh perspectives and the purest intonation.

The Huelgas Ensemble has performed in some of the world’s finest musical centres, including the BBC Proms in London, the Lincoln Center in New York, the Cité de la musique in Paris, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon, as well as the Centro Cultural de Belem (Lisbon). The ensemble also appears regularly at the greatest festivals for early music, where it often performs in its “natural habitat” of ancient chapels, churches and abbeys, thus building an interdisciplinary bridge between architecture and polyphony through its concerts.

Performances by the Huelgas Ensemble are characterized by an in-depth knowledge of the aesthetics and concepts of musical and vocal practices of the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The media and critics alike regularly heap praise on the ensemble for its lively and innovative approach to the repertoire, continuously setting the highest standards in its field. It is precisely for this reason that more and more contemporary composers seek the ensemble out to perform their works (Rihm, MacMillan).

The discography of the Huelgas Ensemble encompasses over sixty recordings of vocal and instrumental music from the thirteenth up to the end of the sixteenth century, for example: Dufay, Brumel, de Rore, Richafort, de Kerle, Ferrabosco, Palestrina, Lassus and Ashewell. These recordings have appeared on a variety of labels, including Seon, Sony Classical, Harmonia Mundi France, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi and ECM. The discography of 2012 – 2014 includes “The Eton Choirbook”, the “Melanges” of Claude Le Jeune, “Das Ohr von Zurbarán“ and a recording of “Et lux“, a work for eight singers and string quartet by the German composer Wolfgang Rihm.

Awards include: various Caecilia prizes of the Belgian press, “Choc du Monde de la Musique” and “Diapason d’Or”, the “Edison Prize”, “Cannes Classical Award” for Early Music, “Prix in Honorem” of the Académie Charles Cros, the “Carrièreprijs” of the classical music radio station “Klara”, a commendation of the “Europese Radio-Unie” and the Canadian Broadcasting Cooperation, the “Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik”, the German music award “Echo Klassik” 1994, 1997, 2010 and 2011 alongside the “Diapason d'Or de l'année 2014”.

Paul Van Nevel
is the artistic director of the Huelgas Ensemble, which he founded in 1971 as an extension of his research and studies at the Schola Basiliensis. A pioneer and figurehead for the research and practice of European polyphony from the twelfth to the sixteenth century Paul Van Nevel utilises an interdisciplinary approach to original sources, putting them into context with their cultural environment (literature, historical pronunciation, temperament and tempo, rhetoric etc.). He is continuously searching for unknown works, with particular attention to the treasures of Flemish polyphony.

He was a guest lecturer at the Sweelinck Conservatorium Amsterdam, the Musikhochschule Hannover, the Centre de Musique ancienne de Genève and he is since 30 years guest conductor of the Nederlands Kamerkoor.

Amongst other things he has written a monograph on Johannes Ciconia and a book about Nicolas Gombert. He has also had transcriptions of renaissance music published by the German publishing house Bärenreiter.

An exhaustive knowledge of the catalogues of Europe’s music libraries allows Paul Van Nevel to continually bring forgotten works to light, which are subsequently performed by his ensemble. His programmes both surprise and delight thanks to inventive perspectives and an in-depth knowledge of the repertoires of the Medieval and Renaissance periods.

Paul Van Nevel has received countless awards, including the "Prix in Honorem" of the Académie Charles Cros (1994), several "Diapason d’Or" and "Choc de l’année" (Le monde de la Musique), the "Edison Prijs", the "Cannes Classical Award", various "Caecilia" prizes of the Belgian press, the "Carrièreprijs" of the classical music radio station "Klara", the "Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik" and several German ECHO Klassik music prizes. His recordings of "The Eton Choirbook" (Sony Classical, 2012) and "La Oreja de Zurbarán" (Cypres records, 2014) has attracted high praise from the global press. For the recording "Les trésors de Claude Le Jeune" (Sony Classical, 2014) he received the "Diapason d'Or de l’année 2014".

Booklet for Wolfgang Rihm: Et Lux