Alma Mater Choir A Zeneakadémia saját szervezésű programja

The Liszt Academy’s Alma Mater Chorus, as the music formation of the university with the deepest, unbroken roots, are a regular feature of concert life. For instance, they could be heard last year in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 under the baton of Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi. This ensemble comprising the university’s choir conducting and theory department, and non-orchestral instrumental students under the direction of Csaba Somos, building on the individual qualifications of the members of chorus and its chamber music sensitivity, have such a rich choral sound culture that represents an especially high quality form of making music together. This year’s Advent concert by the Alma Mater Chorus draws on the finest works associated with the Romantic and 20th century Christmas tradition. Liszt’s Choir of Angels is followed by Poulenc’s Christmas motets, one of Britten’s finest choral works and a piece by contemporary American composer Morten Lauridsen. Excerpts from the Christmas Tree series on solo piano are a kind of intermezzo; Liszt wrote this for his grandchild, Daniela, born to Cosima and Hans von Bülow. The concert closes with the dramatic cantata written by Respighi to a medieval hymn, complemented with the choir soloists and instrumentalists. In addition to Liszt prize holder Csaba Somos, the choir is also conducted by István Párkai, recently awarded the Artist of the Nation title, who was the former leader of the ensemble and is founder of the New Liszt Ferenc Chamber Choir.