Mozart wrote the Vesperae Solennes de Confessore in Salzburg when he was 24 years old, shortly after his mother had died in Paris. As with several other compositions from this period, he used this piece to work through his grief, especially apparent in the "Laudate Dominum,” the fifth part of the Vesper. However, the Vesperae Solennes de Confessore doesn’t just stay in this intimate, inspired register but instead reveals a diverse character. In the final chorus, a brilliant "Magnificat", the timpani and trumpets ring out, thereby giving the work its name "Solennes".
The Carus Choir Coach offers choir singers the unique opportunity to study and learn their own, individual choral parts within the context of the sound of the entire choir and orchestra. For every vocal range a separate Audio CD or MP3 and download containing each choir part is available. The Carus Choir Coach is based on recorded interpretations by renowned artists who have performed the work from carefully prepared Carus Urtext editions. Each choir part is presented in three different versions:
- Original recording
- Coach: each part is accompanied by the piano, with the original recording sounding in the background
- Coach in slow mode: the tempo of the coach slows down to 70% of the original version – through this reduction passages can be learned more effectively.
Performers: Kaia Urb (soprano), Ave Moor (alto), Tiit Kogermann (tenore), Uku Joller (basso) – Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra – Tõnu Kaljuste
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Composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
| 1756-1791As the son of the deputy Kapellmeister to the Salzburg Prince-Archbishop, Mozart was constantly surrounded by church music in his youth. On his travels Mozart became familiar with Italian church music, and later in Vienna he studied the works of Bach and Handel. After moving to Vienna he was faced with the new challenges of composing opera and piano concertos, and significantly the “C Minor Mass” KV 427, the greatest sacred work of the first Vienna years, remained unfinished. The last period of his life again shows a change of direction to church music: Mozart successfully applied to succeed the terminally ill Leopold Hoffmann as Kapellmeister at St Stephen's Cathedral, but he was unable to take up the position as he died before Hoffmann. A gem such as the “Ave verum” KV 618 and the incomplete Requiem KV 626 give us an idea of what Mozart might have achieved as a composer of sacred music if he had taken up this important position. Personal details
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Choir
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
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Orchestra
Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
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Conductor
Tonu Kaljuste
For twenty years Tõnu Kaljuste (conductor) was artistic director and principal conductor of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, which he founded in 1981, and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. Kaljuste has also been chief conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir and the Netherlands Chamber Choir. He has directed international choral seminars and workshops for several years and has worked as a guest conductor with leading orchestras and choirs throughout Europe, Australia and America. As well as immersing himself in the music of the great northern and eastern European moderns, such as Schnittke, Kurtag, Penderecki, Rautavaara and Kancheli, he has a deep affinity with the composers of his native Estonia, including Pärt, Tüür, Tormis and Eller. He has established an international reputation with his wide-ranging repertoire from opera, via the traditional symphonic repertoire to contemporary music. His numerous recordings have won many awards and have been nominated for Grammy awards. In 1999 he received the Cannes Classical Award in the category “Best 20th Century Choral Music” for his recording of Alfred Schnittke’s Psalms of Repentance. In 2004 he was awarded first prize by the Estonian State Foundation “Kultuurkapital.” The same year he became artistic director of the Nargen Festival, an annual, three-month long musical event on the coast of Estonia. He is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. Personal details