I  had not much time to write  in  our blog  and I do not want any visitor  who will feel that there is nothing  else to  say.   2019 had been running fast since it started right after Christmas with some inspection trips through Spain and Portugal as always, then some  trips to  music trade shows and conferences in the U.S and  then the concert season that this year started in  early March. We  did for  first time a performance ensemble who played world music from Texas which came with a string orchestra and a drum section who performed two concerts in Andalusia, one in Salamanca and the final one in Madrid.  Over  2000 people attended to their four concerts and  people enjoyed their music a lot.

We had the privilege again to  collaborate with  Witte Travel and  with  the UNiversity of Northern Iowa, its Concert Choir and with John  Len Wiles. Every time John   visted us in Spain  he brought  a unique repertoire that include works of  Shaina Taub. John Work, Carl Heinrich Graun,  Paul Christiansen, Brahms, Jacob Neverud or the basque composers Javier Busto or Josu Elberdin.  The light the  choir   brought to all audiences during their concerts was memorable.

 

May was  a  choral month, where we had the priviledge to tour with the Viterbo University and the Nebraska Wesleyan Choirs. Viterbo   performed in  Lisbon, Seville, Granada and Madrid.

The Nebraska Wesleyan Choir under the direction of Dr. Willian Wyman performed in Barcelona,Valencia, Guadix, Granada and Malaga. An intense week of concerts and music following the Mediterranean coast

The second part of this  calendar will start in less than two weeks. We  are proud to say  that for  first time, the Handbell Ringers International, an  international association and choir  created by different musicians/members from different nations,   chose Spain for their concert tour and will be touring for the first time. There is a big expectation as this will be probably the first time that a  handbell choir of this characteristics had come to Spain to perform. Among the concerts  that they will play is the concert  at the Cathedral of Burgos that it is celebrating its VIII centenary anniversary.

We promisse to be back soon with  lots of musical news and  updates  for the  next IVth edition of  Pueblos Blancos Music Festival down in Malaga mountains  this summer

Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir

Under the Patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Denmark

Ebbe Munk, Director / Helen Davies, harpist

 

Portugal  & Spain April-May , 2018

Under  the title of  Choir Sounds of Joy and Reflexion, the Copenhagen Royal Chapel came this April to Lisbon and Spain  and offered concerts  on Wednesday April 25 at the Church of the Monastery of San Jeronimo in Lisbon, on April 28 at the Catedral Vieja de Salamanca, on April 30 at the Iglesia del Salvador in Seville and  a final concert  at the Catedral de Malaga on May 2^nd.

The CRCC performed  in front of over 2,400 people  on their  Iberian tour and shared the beautiful voices  in front of warm audiences.

Under the leadership of Ebbe Munk and  with the harpist  Helen Davies they  played the following program:

“Choir Sounds of Joy and Reflexion”

INTRODUCTION

Palle Mikkelborg Noon of Night / Dear God, Be Good to Me

Morten Lauridsen O Magnum Mysterium

HARP SOLO Stephen Henriksen The Meadown

REFLEXIONS ON THE VIGIL

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Sicut cervus & Sitivit anima mea

Sven-David Sandström Sicut cervus& Sitivit anima mea

HARP SOLO Adolf Sjöden Elegie

LIGHT AND JOY

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Jauchzet dem Hern, alle Welt, Psalm 100

Carl Nielsen Benedictus ( from 3 motets op. 55)

HARP SOLO Rhian Samuel Ymhell y mor ( Far across the sea)

PRAYERS AT THE END OF THE DAY

Carl Nielsen Teach Me, Star of the Night

Sergei Rachmaninoff Bogoroditse Devo/ Ave Maria

Palle Mikkelborg A Simple Prayer: Oh Divine Master

More about the CRCC

Among  some of the oldest European musical traditions are the Cathedral choirs and their choir schools. The Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir is the only representative of this tradition in Scandinavia.

Founded in 1924 by Mogens Wöldike the choir developed into a full-time institution with the boys receiving their general education alongside a full musical and vocal training at SANKT ANNAE GYMNASIUM, the Copenhagen Municipal  Choir School. Since 1959 the choir has been resident at Copenhagen Cathedral and performs, as part of their duties, at state functions and during royal visits abroad. A main part of the  choir´s activities are concerts in leading concert halls, cathedrals and  at festivals all over the world.

In 2000 the CRCC was awarded the prestigious Eugene Mortimer Choir Prize by the Europeran Cultural Foundation Pro Europa, and from the 2002 the choir has been appointed Ambassadeurs de lÚnion by Le Féderation Européene des Choeurs de lÚnion in Brussels. In 2003 the choir was honoured in Paris by lÍnstitut de France-Académie des Beaux-Arts with the Prix Chant choral Liliane Bettencourt.

The  CRCC regularly works with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and has released numerous recordings. There is a continued collaboration with the Tivoli Symphony Orchestra/Copenhagen Phil, with the ensembles of the Danish Broadcasting Company and with regional orchesttras in Denmark, and a close co-operation with the Royal Opera House in Copenhagen has also been established in recent years. The recording of Buxtehude´s Cantatas received the Danish Music Awards “Choral  release of the year” in 2002. In 2018 the choir releases its latest recording including Palestrina´s Marcellus Mass and Sicut Cervus, and a new setting of Sicut Cervus by Sven-David Sandström.

From 2000 the CRCC has performed in such various places as New Zealand (Wellington Cathedral), New York (Saint Thomas, 5^th Ave)Beijing (National Centre of Performing Arts), Shangai ( Oriental Art Space)Milano (Teatro alla Scala), Berlin ( Berliner Dom), Paris(Notre Dame) and Oxford (Sheldonian Theatre)

Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark has presented CRCC and Ebbe Munk with the PRO EUROPA prize (2002) on behalf  of the European Foundation for Culture….. to honour the high quality and outstanding achievement of its choral singing and its artistic contribution to culture dialogue in the world.

 

Ebbe Munk was in 1991 appointed both as precentor in the Copenhagen Cathedral and artistic director and conductor of the CRCC for which he was fourth in succession after Mogens Wöldike, Niels Moller and Per Enevold.

Ebbe Munk´s name has been closely associated with the price winning chamber choir VOX DANICA, which was  known  especially for the  performance of new Nordic music. From 1982 to 1991 he was the director of SANKT ANNAE YOUTH CHOIR, which under his leadership developed into one of the major youth  choirs in Europe.

With the CRCC and as a choir instructor, Ebbe Munk has given masterclasses, participated in choral festivals and served on international competition juries in places such as Princeton University, Festival des Cathedrales de Picardie, the National Conservatory of Music and the Opera House in Hanoi and Nordklang  in Finland.

One of the most marked features of Ebbe Munk´s tenure with the choir has been the development of the performance of early music, which began as collaboration between CRCC and Concerto Copenhagen, as well as with special ensembles from abroad, notable the Duffay Collective in London.

IN 2000 Ebbe Munk established a collaboration between the cathedral choir masters in Helsinki, Turku, Uppsala, Trondheim, Oslo and Copenhagen and this has been extended to include illustrious choral institutions such as Escolania de Montserrat, King´s College Cambridge and New College Oxford.

Since  2002 Ebbe Munk has  been artistic counsellor of  the Federation des Choeurs de l´Union I Bruxeles and in 2008 he succeeded Sir David Willcocks at the Big Sing and Teapot Summer School in New Zealand. IN 2003 together with the CRCC he has honoured with the Prix Chant  choral Liliane Bettencourt by l´Institut de France-Academie des Beaux-Arts(Paris) for which  he in 2008 was appointed member of the prize jury.

In 2000 Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark honored Ebbe Munk with a knighthood ( Knight  of the Order of Dannebrog) and in 2015 he was elevated to Knight of the First Rank of the Order of Dannebrog.

Helen Davies career as a harpist is diverse and eclectic. Her wide ranging musical life has seen her combine a distinguished orchestral career in Ireland and Scandinavia with scholarly research in 18^th and 19^th century harp music, arranging and performing Irish traditional harp music and the harp music of her native Wales, and , since 1989, working in the field of contemporary electronic improvided music with her husband, trumpet player and composer Palle Mikkelborg, with whom she has performed worldwide. She has also  worked closely with the CRCC and has toured extensively with them.

Helen studied harp in her native Wales with Ann Griffiths and studied music in Birmingham University (UK). During her time in Ireland, Helen taught both classical and Irish harp at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and established a diploma course for Irish harp. She has published several books of harp music and is currently involved in researching forgotten harp virtuosi from 18^th and 19^th century Scandinavia. Helen has been featured on numerous recordings and her 2 solo CD have both been awarded nominated.