Impressive
sights and sounds captivated visitors the evening of 27th September
2007 at 8,00 pm in St. Marienkirche at Berlin's Alexanderplatz,
the parish church built in 1250 AD. Overwhelmed at first by
the architecture of the church and its numerous works of art,
visitors found that the visual enjoyment was followed by the
highest gratification and amazement at the marvellous singing
of the independent choir The Embassy Singers.
The
members come from the most diverse countries, as the choirmaster
explained - such as the Ukraine, New Zealand, England,
Singapore, and even Malaysia. In Berlin, where the choir
is based, he has received many enquiries about the English
language choir. The singers delighted the audience with
glorious
interpretations
of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis - the Canticle of
Mary when she received word from the Angel Gabriel about the
coming birth of Jesus and the Canticle of Simeon when he recognized
Jesus as his Messiah. Both works belong to the Liturgy of the
Hours in the Catholic Church, and they are part of the trilogy
of canticles (Cantica) from the gospel of Luke, to which
the Benedictus also belongs. By being presented with
the versions in all their fullness and variety, the listeners
were demonstrated countless facets in which each one of these
pieces could take shape. The high regard for the arts that drew
listeners to this performance was confirmed by an older gentleman
before the beginning: "I hope my inner being will be touched
by the sound." His hopes were fulfilled to his complete
satisfaction. The audience that evening had come for a variety
of reasons. For one thing, relatives of the choir members were
present - even the tiniest offspring made a point of listening
to their mothers' singing and were looked after with extra loving
care by their fathers. Naturally, the audience also included
some solitary persons, who sought and found contentment in the
sound of music.
Mellow
voices followed Choirmaster Andrew Sims' every gesture,
resounding downward from the vaulted ceiling of the nave.
Andrew Sims has directed the choir in Berlin since 1999, where
he works as a conference interpreter for the Federal Government
as his main profession - which did not prevent him from gaining
40 years of experience in choral conducting, a task to which
he dedicates himself
with
total enthusiasm and determination. That the choir members have
met the high demands and standards was proven by the long, sustained
applause and by the choirmaster's expression, radiant with joy
and pride.
Among
the highlights, a select part of the choir distinguished itself
in a solo passage, sustained by the forceful male voices of
Ingo Bathow (tenor) and Benjamin Nill (bass), but tempered by
the dulcet voices of Caroline du Vinage (soprano), Andie Ullrich-Permutti
(soprano), and Doro Schleiff (alto), their vocal art, rendered
with fervour, reached the listeners.
These
had their eyes intently turned upwards toward the organ loft,
where the choir was standing, forming a wonderful ensemble with
the organ in the background.
Organist
Daniel Clark,
born in Wales in 1973, played the imposing organ, which was
gilded and decorated with angel figures. By alternating the
accompaniment of the choir with solo pieces, his mastery found
expression to the fullest extent, together with the magnificent
force of the organ. He has studied music at three different
universities and won a scholarship to the University of Cambridge.
Since 2006 he has also accompanied religious services in Dresden's
Frauenkirche, and this activity was preceded by numerous successful
solo performances.
The
evening's programme sequence was a special challenge for choirmaster
Andrew Sims. How is an evening to be planned with the performance
of the same pieces ten times over in different variations?
To this he responded: Arranging compositions with the same
text but in different keys in good order is an art that is
often underestimated. It was his aim to create tension, surprise
and harmony, which he achieved brilliantly, according to numerous
comments from the audience. The programme had been established
in chronological order and proceeded, beginning with a version
by Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625), passing to Herbert Sumsion
(1899-1995) and to Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), turning
slightly back in time and leading to an encore that lay outside
the general framework. The end of the performance at 9,40
pm was rounded of with an anthem by Charles Wood (1866-1929),
"O Thou the Central Orb". During the ten-minute
intermission starting at 8,45 pm, visitors were able to reinvigorate
their sense of hearing and all other senses, while the artists
used the time to refresh their spirits so as to continue presenting
their splendid performance with renewed vigour and every incentive.
The choir's next performance, Songs from the Shows
- the Music of British Musicals (Admission 6,00 /Reduced 5,00
Euros) is scheduled for Saturday 10th November at 8,00 pm
in St. George's Church (Preussenallee 17-19/Charlottenburg).
Text
by Gesine Westphal
Photographs by Paul Harwardt
Correspondent Gesine Westphal
Gesine
Westphal is just
beginning her university studies in Potsdam
with a view to a career in business journalism