This Autumn sees the German premieres of two orchestral works by Mark Andre, one of which is part of the NOW! Festival Essen, where his music is a thematic focus.
On October 9, Im Enthüllen receives its German premiere in Munich, performed by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Matthias Pintscher as part of the new music series musica viva. The piece is part of the Genesis project, in which Pintscher commissioned seven composers to set the seven days of the creation to music. The result is a unique composition, with seven diverse movements that are woven together, all aiming to emphasize the power of the creative act. Pintscher gave the world premiere on May 29 with the Kansas City Symphony.
Im Enthüllen presents the seventh day of the creation, on which God rests from his work and sanctifies the day. ‘In the unveiling’, the most fragile, unstable sound phenomena are revealed as potentially the most intense moments: the music of transience … (Mark Andre).
In November, NOW! Festival Essen portraits Mark Andre and his music with two concerts, including the German premiere of Im Entsiegeln for soprano and orchestra, with soloist Ilse Eerens and Essen Philharmonic, conducted by Vimbayi Kaziboni on November 6 at the Philharmonie. Referring to the silence mentioned at the beginning of Chapter 8 of the Book of Revelation: “And when the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”, Andre explores the most unstable, interrogative, vocal-instrumental compositional space-time signatures and reveals the final traces of music as it fades away.
Earlier in the festival on November 1, Andre’s spiritual opus magnum rwḥ 1 – 4 is presented by Ingo Metzmacher who is leading Ensemble Modern, SWR Experimentalstudio, WDR Radio Choir and the Essen Cathedral Girls’ Choir. “rwh” comes from the Armenian language and means breath, air, scent, and wind, but can also be understood as Holy Spirit. In his work, Andre combines the sounds of orchestra, choral singing and electronic music, with the music at times fleeting as air or breath, yet seeming always ever-present, like the Holy Spirit.
“The title in its many meanings creates a very beautiful interface between the very earthly and existential, such as breath, on one hand, and the supernatural, spiritual, on the other” – Mark Andre.
For more information on the concerts see Bavarian Radio Symphonie Orchestra and NOW! Festival.
