a night at the opera

performed live by NDR-Chor in Hannover 31.01.2013; FM broadcast NDR-Kultur, 25.07.2013

Franz Schubert - Coronach. Totengesang, D 836

MOZART: "Pa - Pa - Pa - Papagena!" from Die Zauberflöte, K. 620

Performed by UCI Chamber Singers 

This is a new version of my AUTUMN, for two-part choir (soprano & alto) and piano, now available for PDF download | https://bit.ly/45VCfBy



Commissioned by Highland Chamber Choir, AUTUMN is the choral version of a track from my SEASONS piano EP. There was something about it that made me reminisce about Vestmarka, the tranquil national park that nearly borders the doorstep of my childhood home in Norway. I asked Tony Silvestri to write the text, based on pictures from the area and my memories of countless hikes through the radiant forest in the fall.

Feel the falling air,
The light becoming golden;
Trees their colors wear,
Deep and all-enfolding.

The autumn leaves embracing;
But soon they all must fall,
The summer green erasing,
To answer winter’s call.

And here once again
Familiar paths I wander;
Through the westmark wend
The living earth I ponder.

Though fading days are colder,
And soon the darkness long,
My spirit-fire grows bolder,
And in my heart a song.

Even when shadows lengthen,
I’m here where I belong.

Autumn (Two-Part)

Un manoscritto, 
fogli ingialliti da quasi tre secoli di storia, apparentemente del tutto simili a quelli di centinaia di spartiti conservati con dedizione e cura nelle biblioteche di tutta Europa.
Queste pagine non sono però come tante, in esse è custodito uno scrigno di rara bellezza, in esse è preservata l’anima di un giovane uomo, un genio che nel creare questi suoni lotta contro il tempo, senza sapere se tempo gli sarà concesso per giungere al fine.
In queste pagine sono catturate tempeste di emozioni: la paura per la morte, la disperazione, la malinconia atroce e insopportabile, la devozione e la fede, la tenerezza, la fragilità, l’amore per la vita. Il terrore, l’angoscia, il bisogno di aiuto sapendo che nessun aiuto gli sarà concesso. E la solitudine, che solo da un amore capace di condividere il dolore può essere vinta.
In queste pagine è conservata una delle più alte espressioni del genio umano, a Dio Rivolto e da Dio Ispirato. 
Questo Manoscritto narra di un dramma, di un viaggio nel dolore. Questo manoscritto racconta la genesi di un capolavoro: lo Stabat Mater.

Quando corpus morietur

Big Schubert Box

Auf dem Wasser zu singen, D. 774 “Mitten im Schimmer"

In December 2011, hosted by the Jeunesses Musicales Norway, the World Youth Choir performed a full concert at the University of Oslo concert hall "Aula" celebrating 200 years of the Oslo University as well as at the Nobel Peace Prize Award ceremony and at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert. It was a musical celebration like no other! 
Motet  ''Warum ist das Licht gegeben'' op. 74 by Brahms, sung by the World Youth Choir on December 9th 2011 in Oslo, recorded live at the Oslo ''Aula'' University hall, conducted by Grete Pedersen, Norway. 
© The Foundation World Youth Choir, all rights reserved. Any resemblance with a third party content is accidental and does not affect the rights to this recording.

Johannes Brahms ''Warum ist das Licht gegeben'' op. 74 (motet) LIVE in Oslo 2011.

The World Youth Choir is a genuine educational and social experience drawing on many vocal traditions, aiming for the highest artistic level. By music education, professional artistic approach, multicultural social interaction and exchange the World Youth Choir unites 40 to 80 young choral singers age 18 to 30 from all over the world at projects organized in different countries each or every other year. Artistically, singers develop their musical talents by interacting with internationally renowned conductors performing repertoires of various styles, time periods at a professional level. The choir performs both a cappella and with distinguished youth or national orchestras, further expanding its message of artistic unity. Socially, and regardless of political or cultural differences, singers share up to a month of their lives together. They work, play, converse, and debate. Such communal living creates a genuine spirit of understanding, lifelong friendships, and a cohesive group with a unique bond. This is why UNESCO has awarded the World Youth Choir with the “Artist for Peace” title in 1996, recognizing its success as a platform for intercultural dialogue through music. 

Johannes Brahms ''Warum ist das Licht gegeben'' op. 74 (motet) LIVE in Oslo 2011.

World Youth Choir

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