The rows of seats were filled almost to the last seat; a few enthusiastic visitors even stood at the entrance to St Ludwig's, the most impressive church in Darmstadt. Around 500 listeners experienced how the choirs of the music school department celebrated the first Advent under the enormous dome. Under the direction of Claudia Nicolai, brilliantly supported by Jorin Sandau on the organ and sensitively and empathetically accompanied by Dmytro Geneberg on the piano. Title of the programme: "Daughter Zion, rejoice."
And the concert was a great joy, as could be seen from the many happy faces at the end. The singers touched their audience deeply, which the young and very youngest singers did brilliantly right at the beginning: the children's choir, junior choir and youth choirs sang a French classic together, "Hört der Engel helle Lieder".
The ensemble "4harmonics" brought a completely different colour to the programme. They sang an "Ave Maria" by Michael Head (1900-1976) with a confident and pure sound. Leah Gass, Kim Knödelseder, Alicia Pretz and Elena Tibke have been taught voice training by Claudia Nicolai for many years. Remarkable: During the Corona period, a municipal server (Jamulus) served as a platform for singing together, which meant that the group did not disband. Today, they still make music virtually because their professional development has taken them all the way to Switzerland. In St Ludwig, they were once again able to demonstrate their artistry in real life.
Another highlight was the organ improvisation performed by Jorin Sandau. Although ... a powerful roar actually went through the church at some points when the choirmaster from St Ludwig's showed how much imagination he used to interpret Christmas carols from the choir children's wish list.
What a surprise! After just a few rehearsals, the International Choir, a cooperation between Akademie für Tonkunst and PASO, the non-profit organisation for participatory social work, made its debut. The "youngest" choir in the church impressed across the board - with heart-wrenching songs: "Ein Stimm' beginnt" (Germany), "Finlandia/Song of peace" (Jean Sibelius / 1865-1957) and "Vyfleyemi Nowyna" (Ukraine). Ukrainian? The majority of participants are refugees from Ukraine, but also from Germany and other countries.
The adult choir performed just as sonorously, offering a wide range of music: it began with Felix Mendelson Bartholdy from the 19th century ("Hark! The Herald Angels sing") and ended with the composer Lothar Reubke, who only died this year ("Zu den Bergen"). Both youth choirs also set a swinging accent and painted an authentic and humorous picture of the pre-Christmas season in the USA with "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas". All strong performances that were rewarded with much applause.
For the final hymn, all the choirs streamed into the chancel and over 120 singers sang "Daughter of Zion", composed by George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759). A powerful sound filled the church right up to the last rows ... Christmas can come!
