Wolfgang Rihm: Astralis & Other Choral Works RIAS Kammerchor and Hans-Christoph Rademann

• Wolfgang Rihm (1952): Sieben Passions-Texte:
• 1I. Tristis est anima mea02:38
• 2II. Ecce vidimus eum04:19
• 3III. Velum templi scissum est03:36
• 4IV. Tenebrae factae sunt05:33
• 5V. Caligaverunt oculi mei04:29
• 6VI. Recessit pastor noster02:50
• 7VII. Aestimatus sum04:55
• Astralis („Über die Linie“ III):
• 8Astralis („Über die Linie“ III)29:39
• Fragmenta passionis:
• 9I. Da verliessen ihn01:20
• 10II. Da schrien alle02:46
• 11III. Vater, vergib ihnen01:27
• 12IV. Jesus schrie nochmals01:35
• 13V. Wahrhaftig dieser war Gottes Sohn02:52
• Total Runtime01:07:59

Info for Wolfgang Rihm: Astralis & Other Choral Works

When Wolfgang Rihm composed the 'Fragmenta Passionis', in 1968, this 16-year old artist was already a ‘compositional force’ that seemed beyond any doubt in terms of critical consciousness. Two further compositions, the 'Sieben Passions-texte' of 2001-06 and the major half-hour-long work 'Astralis' of 2001, feature on the present recording alongside the early choral work. If one looks for a common compositional language, then these three works are linked above all by their expressive and diverse treatment of the possibilities of the human voice and at the same time by their reflection on traditional forms and genres of musical history. The 'Fragmenta Passionis' are, in fact, motets such as have been written ever since Machaut in the 14th century, by Guillaume Dufay and Johannes Ockeghem in the 15th and perhaps an anachronism by 1968!

Rihm's early work, combining contemporary techniques with the emotional volatility of Mahler and of Schoenberg's early expressionist period, was regarded by many as a revolt against the avant-garde generation of Boulez, Stockhausen (with whom he studied in 1972–73), and others, and led to a large number of commissions in the following years. In the late 1970s and early 1980s his name was associated with the movement called New Simplicity. His work still continues to plough expressionist furrows, though the influence of Luigi Nono, Helmut Lachenmann and Morton Feldman, amongst others, has affected his style significantly.

„The visionary Astralis is at the heart of this collection, but more variety and drama are found in the Fragmenta passionis and Sieben Passions-Texte. Superb performances.“ (BBC Music Magazine)

„The performances of these two Passiontide works are heroic...Everything is triumphantly mastered by this remarkable choir, but a strong word than 'heroic' is needed to describe the performance of [Astralis]...Hypnotic is not the word for the effect this work creates, but listeners who take the conductor's advice will find the music opening like a flower for them too.“ (International Record Review)

RIAS Kammerchor
Hans-Christoph Rademann, conductor

The RIAS Kammerchor (RIAS Chamber Choir)
has an artistic profile which is unmistakeable in its rich diversity and is received with enthusiasm all over the world.

Among professional choirs, the RIAS Kammerchor is a pioneer in the area of historical performance practice. Since its foundation, it has also been exemplary in promoting music of the modern era and the present day. Within the context of the tension between these areas, the choir's interpretations of works from the classical and romantic repertoires have acquired intensive musical speech with clarity of depth. The choir has grown decisively above all in the breadth of its range of stylistic expression under the direction of Hans-Christoph Rademann, who has been chief conductor since 2007. He has been able to build on the foundation provided by the work of his predecessors in this area.

A clear departure from the monumental style of Bach interpretation was already evident in Karl Ristenpart's project to record all the Bach cantatas, a project which unfortunately remained uncompleted. "Transparency as in chamber music" was Ristenpart's guiding principle. When Uwe Gronostay took over the choir in 1972, he continued to mould its sound with the ideal of a chamber choir in mind, giving it homogenous form with assured intonation and stylistic flexibility. He looked to partners in Europe such as Eric Ericson and his chamber choir for this new direction, introducing fundamental principles of historical performance practice into the choir's work. These were systematically developed by Marcus Creed, who succeeded in creating firm partnerships with specialised orchestras such as Concerto Köln, Freiburger Barockorchester, Akademie für Alte Musik, Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, also establishing an exclusive link for the choir with the harmonia mundi france label in 1995.

Numerous works of new music have not only had their premieres and first performances thanks to the RIAS Kammerchor, but have also been successively anchored in its repertoire and recorded in definitive interpretations. This aspect of the choir's repertoire runs like a thread through its history. The fact that choir music is re-emerging today in a wide variety of styles is also to the credit of the RIAS Kammerchor and its constant commitment to new developments in music.

The RIAS Kammerchor was founded by RIAS (Radio in the American Sector) in Berlin on 15 October 1948. Recordings for the broadcasting station's needs determined the choir's work during its first 25 years under Karl Ristenpart, Herbert Froitzheim and Günther Arndt. With the increasing availability of recorded audio media, the importance of public concerts and guest performances grew. Uwe Gronostay (1972–1986), who was elected honorary conductor by the choir in 2007, was responsible for this new orientation - he set up an individual series of concerts for the choir. His successor Marcus Creed (1987–2001) raised the choir's profile within the tension of the interplay between old and new music. Under his direction, the choir's international popularity increased as did requests for performances.

Daniel Reuss (2003–2006) shifted the focus to classical modernism and strengthened the choir's links with partners both at home and abroad. Since 2007, Hans-Christoph Rademann has been creating new emphases in the development of the choir's sound and repertoire. In December 2010, the British magazine Gramophone chose the RIAS Kammerchor as one of the top ten choirs in the world.

The RIAS Kammerchor is an ensemble of Rundfunk Orchester und Chöre GmbH (roc berlin.) The shareholders are Deutschlandradio, the Federal Republic of Germany, the State of Berlin und the Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg broadcasting station.

Hans-Christoph Rademann
has been principal conductor and director of the RIAS Kammerchor (RIAS Chamber Choir) since 2007. Since that time he has furthered the expansion of the choir's main areas of focus - historical performance practice and present- day music. In terms of musical tradition, he has focused particularly on the rediscovery of works by the Bach family. He has also strengthened co-operation with contemporary composers by commissioning work from Steffen Schleiermacher, Tigran Mansurian and Samir Odeh-Tamimi among others. Within the context of the tension between present-day music and historical performance practice, he has opened up the classical and romantic spheres to the RIAS Kammerchor, creating new emphases across the whole spectrum of forms of expression. Under his leadership, the choir's stylistic quality has grown in diversity, the presence of its sound taking on a new succinctness.

Hans-Christoph Rademann comes from a family of cantors and was a student when he founded the Dresdner Kammerchor, which he still directs today. From 1991 to 1999, he was head of the Dresdner Singakademie, following which he took on cultural responsibility for the choir of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk broadcasting station until 2004. Among the choirs which he has directed as a guest conductor are the Rundfunkchor Berlin, Collegium Vocale Gent and the choirs of the Bayerischer Rundfunk, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk und Südwestrundfunk broadcasting stations. He has also conducted orchestras such as the Dresdner Barockorchester, the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Rotterdam Philharmonic.

Hans-Christoph Rademann has been Professor of Choral Conducting at the Musikhochschule Dresden since 2000. Together with colleagues, he initiated the choral director forum of the German Music Council in 2008 as a programme for supporting young professional choral directors. In addition to this, he is a patron of the Hospizdienst Dresden e.V. hospice organisation. Hans-Christoph Rademann was honoured with the Sponsorship Award of the State capital Dresden for his services to musical life in Dresden. In 2008 he was awarded the Saxon Constitutional Medal. He has been in charge of the Musikfest Erzgebirge as a founding director since 2010. Furthermore, he will have produced a complete recording of the works of Heinrich Schütz on CD by 2017. On 1 June 2013, Hans-Christoph Rademann succeeded Helmuth Rilling as director of the Stuttgart Bach Academy.

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