Elements Kölner Vokalsolisten

• Jacobus Clemens non Papa (1510 - 1555): Ego flos campi:
• 1Papa: Ego flos campi03:37
• Agnė Agnetė Mažulienė (b. 1991): Kleine Wünsche:
• 2Mažulienė: Kleine Wünsche05:13
• Michael Ostrzyga (b. 1975): Tall Trees Grove, March 1st 2016:
• 3Ostrzyga: Tall Trees Grove, March 1st 201604:16
• Thomas Morley (1557 - 1602): Hard by a Crystal Fountain:
• 4Morley: Hard by a Crystal Fountain03:52
• Fyre, Fyre!:
• 5Morley: Fyre, Fyre!02:25
• William Byrd (1543 - 1623): This Sweet and Merry Month of May, T 317:
• 6Byrd: This Sweet and Merry Month of May, T 31702:57
• Laura Marconi (b. 1960): Vorrei:
• 7Marconi: Vorrei12:05
• Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (1566 - 1613): Tristis est anima mea:
• 8Venosa: Tristis est anima mea04:29
• Orlando di Lasso (1532 - 1594): Lagrime di San Pietro:
• 9Lasso: Lagrime di San Pietro: I. Il magnanimo Pietro, che giurato havea, LV 100502:21
• 10Lasso: Lagrime di San Pietro: XI. E non fu il pianto suo rivo o corrente, LV 101501:59
• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): 3 Songs, Op. 42:
• 11Brahms: 3 Songs, Op. 42: I. Abendständchen02:01
• 12Brahms: 3 Songs, Op. 42: II. Vineta02:50
• Traditional, Friedrich Heinrich Bothe (1771 - 1855): Es waren zwei Königskinder:
• 13Traditional, Bothe: Es waren zwei Königskinder03:42
• Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809 - 1847): 3 Psalms, Op. 78: I. Psalm 2:
• 14Bartholdy: 3 Psalms, Op. 78: I. Psalm 2: Warum toben die Heiden, MWV B4106:39
• Stefan Heucke (b.1959): Andenken, Op. 100:
• 15Heucke: Andenken, Op. 10012:27
• Total Runtime01:10:53

Info for Elements

The Kölner Vokalsolisten are a six-voice vocal ensemble dedicated primarily to interpreting contemporary music. On their new GENUIN album, however, they juxtapose contemporary music with works from the 16th and 19th centuries and sing compositions based on the four elements. Not only does Renaissance meet Romanticism on this CD, but several world premieres by Stefan Heucke, Laura Marconi, and Michael Ostrzyga – works written especially for the slender and superbly blending voices of the vocal soloists – are featured as well. Fire, water, earth, air: virtuosic, sonorous, ethereal, and grounded – a truly extraordinary musical journey!

Kölner Vokalsolisten

The Kölner Vokalsolisten
are a six-part vocal ensemble devoted to the vocal chamber music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. They are unique among this type of ensemble in the Cologne region. Founded in 2007 on the occasion of the performance of Luciano Berio’s Canticum novissimi testamenti, they appeared for the first time at the Cologne Music Triennale under the direction of Marcus Creed. This was followed by regular performances at the festival Acht Brücken | Musik für Köln. The ensemble has also featured at festivals such as Schönes Wochenende (Düsseldorf), the Mittelrhein Musik Festival, and the Cologne Early Music Festival.

In 2015, the Kölner Vokalsolisten undertook their first major international tour, appearing at the Eilat Chamber Music Festival in Israel.

Early music cycles such as the responsory settings by Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa are just as much a part of their repertoire as modern classics such as György Ligeti’s Nonsense Madrigals. They have also performed Luciano Berio’s Passaggio and Morton Feldman’s Rothko Chapel successfully.

Another characteristic of the work of the Vokalsolisten is their close cooperation with numerous composers, resulting in a large number of premieres; four pieces premiered by the Vokalsolisten can be heard on this album. They have enjoyed an ongoing artistic collaboration with the composer and conductor Michael Ostrzyga.

A particularly appealing aspect of their repertoire is its inclusion of music from different eras and the preparation of original programs that show how the great themes of love, life, death, passion, and faith have found expression in music over the centuries. In this respect, the ensemble sees itself as a bridge between different musical worlds.

Booklet for Elements