Göteborgs Konserthus Classical AW with Bach

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Jubilate Deo in C In July 1934 Benjamin Britten, then 20 years old, composed a Te deum in C major for the choir of St Mark’s, North Audley Street, London. He followed it later the same year with a Jubilate in E flat, thereby completing the traditional pairing of Anglican canticles. However, the latter was never released. Almost three decades later, at the request of the Duke of Edinburgh, Britten made good his ‘omission’, producing the Jubilate in C major heard here. The sparseness of texture is typical of Britten’s later style. Voice parts are often in pairs—with hints of heterophony (divergent versions of the same melody), a feature of the eastern music Britten encountered during this period. Though the music’s tone is generally buoyant, some of the word-setting is reminiscent of Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms. ‘Be thankful unto him’, for example, is set not as a hymn of praise, but in a whisper over a long organ chord. History doesn’t record the Duke’s reaction. Martin Ennis 2018

In addition to his great Mass in B minor, Johann Sebastian Bach composed four shorter masses (BWV 233–236), usually called missae breves, or Lutheran masses. They include only the Kyrie and Gloria from the Ordinary of the Mass, which gives a playing time of about twenty minutes. The works are based on the reuse of earlier compositions with new text, and in all of these (with the exception of a single aria) the music is taken from older cantatas. The masses were probably composed in the years 1738–39, and were intended for liturgical use. It is possible that they were not intended for his hometown of Leipzig but were commissioned by the Bohemian Count Franz Anton von Sporck, who was in the social circle of Bach's aristocratic patrons in Dresden. The Mass in G minor (BWV 235) consists of six movements: a Kyrie followed by a five-movement Gloria, where two choral movements frame three solo arias. The music is mainly taken from some of Bach's earlier cantatas, the material of which has been skillfully adapted to the Latin text of the Mass. The work is written for four-part choir, soloists, strings and oboes, and combines powerful choral splendor with a more intimate and expressive soloist tone.

from Cantata No. 187, "Es wartet alles auf dich"

In Serenade for tenor, horn and strings from 1943, English poets from the 15th to 19th centuries contribute texts that revolve around the night. Six songs as both rest and threat. Two horn solos frame the work and the natural tones create with their – to the unaccustomed – almost false-sounding intervals, an ambivalent sound space between light and darkness. Clearly chiseled movements characterize the serenade. This applies to both the almost parading Nocturne and the more ghostly Dirge, with its trait of mechanical inexorability. Britten works sparingly, and often ties the motif to the horn, where a contrapuntal dialogue arises between horn and tenor soloist. The harmonics move freely, tension is created through shifts, not through traditional resolution. Perhaps the restraint and the mix of threat and hope are the composer's way of relating to the horrors that unfolded in the midst of a burning war. Such were the conditions when Britten wrote his work, in an England where the concept of night was synonymous with fearful anticipation of the rumble of approaching German bombers.

The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. Since the 2019-2020 season, Barbara Hannigan is Principal guest conductor. We are also a proud partner of Barbara Hannigan's Equilibrium mentoring program focusing on young singers at the start of their careers. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025. Wilhelm Stenhammar was the orchestra's chief conductor from 1907 to 1922. He gave the orchestra a strong Nordic profile and invited colleagues Carl Nielsen and Jean Sibelius to the orchestra. Under the direction of conductor Neeme Järvi from 1982-2004, the orchestra made a series of international tours as well as a hundred disc recordings and established themselves among Europe's leading orchestras. In 1996, the Swedish Riksdag appointed the Gothenburg Symphony as Sweden's National Orchestra. In recent decades, the orchestra has had prominent chief conductors such as Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Mario Venzago and Gustavo Dudamel, following Kent Nagano as Principal Guest conductor. Anna-Karin Larsson is CEO and artistic director, Gustavo Dudamel honorary conductor and Neeme Järvi chief conductor emeritus. The orchestra's owner is the Västra Götaland Region. The Gothenburg Symphony works regularly with conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Joana Carneiro, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Christian Zacharias and Anja Bihlmaier.

The choir was founded in 1917 by cousins Elsa and Wilhelm Stenhammar. Elsa Stenhammar was one of the driving forces in turn-of-the-century choir life in Gothenburg and became the choir's first rehearser. On December 8, 1917, the choir debuted in Beethoven's Choir Fantasy with Wilhelm Stenhammar as soloist at the grand piano. As the country's oldest symphonic choir, they were able to celebrate their 100th anniversary in 2017 with a big celebratory concert where Mozart and Brahms as well as Stenhammar, Elfrida Andrée and Björn & Benny were on the program. The Gothenburg Symphony Choir is a non-profit association that is linked to the Gothenburg Symphony. The choir participates in concerts and performances under both the orchestra's and its own auspices. The music is mixed and the repertoire extensive. The Gothenburg Symphony Choir has participated in concerts in, among other places, the Royal Albert Hall and Canterbury Cathedral in England, as well as participated with the Gothenburg Symphony in the annual music festival in the Canary Islands and on a tour to China.

The Gothenburg Symphony Vocal Ensemble (GSVE) was formed in 2016 and consists of 12 professional singers. The ensemble works both as part of the Gothenburg Symphony Choir in major symphonic works performed together with the Gothenburg Symphony, and as an independent ensemble under the direction of Katie Thomas. GSVE is a group of experienced and versatile singers, who perform varied programs and explore a wide repertoire, from medieval music to newly commissioned works. The ensemble has previously collaborated with, among others, the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra and the Barockakademin Göteborgs Symfoniker and performs regular vocal programs both in Gothenburg's Concert Hall and around the Västra Götaland region.

British Andrew Staples combines a busy schedule as an opera and concert singer with a career as a film and stage director and photographer. To all his creative output, Andrew brings a collaborative approach and a passion to tell better stories that build connections between artists and audiences. As a distinguished tenor, he has collaborated with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Daniel Harding, Emmanuelle Haïm, Elim Chan, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Andrew Davis, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He has worked with renowned orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, Les Siècles, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and the LA Phil. Last season he did a European tour and participated in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, among others. He also performed Bach's St. Matthew Passion under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. Other highlights were Mendelssohn's Lobegesang with the Sinfonieorchester Basel and Bruckner's Mass No. 3 with the Wiener Symphoniker. His recent film productions include music films for Voces8, Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, Platoon (Apple) and Arcangelo. He directed a special performance of Stravinsky's The Firebird in a hangar at Charles de Gaulle Airport in collaboration with Arte, Daniel Harding and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Previous collaborations include Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time with Alice Sara Ott for DG Stage+ and a film adaptation of The Planets for the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Keiti Strömqvist is an Estonian mezzo-soprano based in Gothenburg. As a concert soloist she has performed in works such as Mozart's Requiem, Haydn's Nelson Mass, Handel's Messiah and Bach's St. John Passion, in collaboration with ensembles such as the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Karlsson Baroque and Borås Symphony Orchestra. On the opera stage she has performed roles such as Carmen in a modern interpretation of Carmen (Bizet/Luup) at the Estonian Opera Festival, Angelina in Rossini's La Cenerentola, Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro and a cameo as Auntie in Britten's Peter Grimes at the Gothenburg Opera. She is a member of the Gothenburg Symphony Vocal Ensemble. Keiti Strömqvist has performed at festivals and stages in Sweden, Denmark and Estonia and has a bachelor's degree from the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen.

Torbjörn Tällberg Martins has been employed by the Gothenburg Symphony Vocal Ensemble since 2016. He is also frequently hired as a soloist in church settings around Gothenburg and the surrounding area. He began singing at the age of seven in the Gothenburg Boys' Choir and is largely self-taught, supplemented by singing lessons from, among others, Maria Forsström. He has also been active in the Swedish Chamber Choir.

Lisa Ford has been the principal horn player in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra for 30 years. Lisa is an active chamber musician and soloist and a member of the ensemble Gageego!. She is a senior lecturer at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and Performing Arts and a mentor in the master's program in symphony orchestra performance, she is a horn teacher and teaches wind and chamber music ensembles. Lisa Ford is educated at the Interlochen Arts Academy. She has been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and has a diploma from the Norwegian Academy of Music, NMH. She was previously assistant principal horn player in the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. She is also a certified professional coach.