Peter Dijkstra - CD

The CD features a.o. arrangements by Jan Sandström of improvised folk songs of the Sami people - whose singing is among the earliest continuing vocal traditions of Europe - but also recent works like the sixteen-part Kosijat (The Suitors; 2001) by one of the best-known contemporary composers in Finland, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi. The final piece on the cd, Muoayiayaoum is a phonetic formula, a sequence of vowels which open and close.

This is the purpose of the twelve-minute piece, as the composer Anders Hillborg ventures in search of the greatest possible precision in terms of timbre, pulse and dynamics. The level of vocal virtuosity that Peter Dijkstra elicits from his singers of The Swedish Radio Choir, collectively, is breathtaking and his cd ‘Nordic Sounds 1’ with music of Sandström as well as his most recent Poulenc recording ‘Figure Humaine’, received great critical acclaim and important awards!

The Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks joins forces with Concerto Köln to produce another superb CD.

On this new CD the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks under the direction of Peter Dijkstra presents itself a cappella in works by Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler and Richard Wagner.

Magnificent tone paintings like “Isoldes Liebestod” (“Isolde’s Love-Death”) and the “Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen” (“Songs of a Wayfarer”) radiate a new unprecedented glory in transcriptions for 16-part chorus by Clytus Gottwald. Thanks to its special tonal homogeneity and stylistic versatility, this ensemble enjoys the highest regard throughout the world. Dutch conductor Peter Dijkstra – the artistic director of the ensemble since 2005 – is the shooting star on the choral scene and has presented the ensemble together with both BR orchestras in a number of versatile programs.

- Purely Chorus! The BR-Chor presents itself a cappella

- Warm, crystal-clear choral sound

- “Classics” from the late romantic era in unusual transcriptions

- Recent recordings from 2009 and 2011

To issue a CD of Poulenc's most important choral work is to make a huge statement, and to take something of a risk. Why does one do it? Aren't there enough recordings already? Having said that, in my case it's simply dire necessity. This work is so beautiful, so impressive, and so important to the canon of twentieth-century choral music, that I cannot resist having a say of my own. I do believe that Poulenc´s 12-part Figure humaine is the most beautiful and impressive a cappella choral work that I know. The poet Eluard and composer Poulenc formed a perfect match. Eluard's poignant and sinister surrealistic texts are very moving, and their wonderfully expressive language depicts the horrors of the Second World War. It is without doubt a harrowing work, with a pièce de résistance to end: the eighth and final movement Liberté. In the most beautiful words, it expresses the omnipresent urge for liberty. Poulenc's setting is simply wonderful, with a gigantic buildup to the concluding, ultimate cry of LIBERTÉ! It is a great joy to perform this sort of music with my Swedish Radio Choir. The ensemble is a very strong group, and most eager to stretch its boundaries. The strength of the group is not merely the sum of its individual qualities. At the moment when these qualities merge into one, the group develops still further, and the ensemble attains a higher elevation. However important blending of the sound may be, it may not be at the expense of individual colour and personality. Choirs are frequently recorded from a considerable distance, perhaps to improve the blend. I often find the resulting sound to be distant, and detrimental to the clarity of the text.

The recording technique of Channel Classics seeks to establish a synthesis, combining directness and clarity with spatial effect. This is exactly my own approach to choral timbre: the choir must achieve the greatest unity and blend, but also allow space for individual colour. It is at such moments that the listener feels personally involved, and the music gains a human aspect. I am convinced that this is the sound Poulenc had in mind when he wrote Figure humaine. Peter Dijkstra

Peter Dijkstra: The Swedish Radio Choir works at a great pace and demands the very highest quality, which makes it a great joy for me to work with this ensemble. All 32 singers not only have great solo capacities, they are also more than willing to make music together at a chamber music level. The a cappella tradition built up in the 1960s and 1970s by Eric Ericson, and nurtured later by many others, is still very tangible. Through this training over such a long period, a specific choral sound has been created (I like to call it the 'Nordic sound'), which, thanks to enormous exactness in the intonation, is highly transparent and sonorous.

There is also a tradition of collaboration with composers, who have had many opportunities to bring their ideas to fruition with the choir. One of the most important of these is Sven-David Sandström. When composing for choir Sandström (1942–) does not hold back in terms of expression or technical demands. This contributes towards a most emotional tonal language, to which the 'Nordic sound' of the Swedish Radio Choir is perfectly suited. Composer and choir have worked together for years, and Sandström has really become a house composer. Reason enough for Channel Classics’ first ‘Nordic Sound’ issue to feature his music.

Georg Friedrich Händel’s great choral oratorio, “Israel in Egypt” is the most valuable gift the composer ever gave to choral music. The chorus functions as protagonist in this powerful work, which tells the Old Testament story of Exodus with telling dramatic intensity. Two multiple prize-winning, major ensemble, Concerto Köln, the well known period instrument ensemble and the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, joined forces for the first time in November of 2008. The strong individual characteristics of the vocal soloists combine impressively with the chorus and orchestra for a multi-layered interpretation that is concurrently borne by a clear, common musical objective. This recording features the original three-part version from 1739.

Live-recording; Munich, Prinzregententheater, Nov. 2008

Booklet Notes: English, German, French

Libretto: English, German

“Widely regarded as one of the world’s finest small professional choirs” (musicweb- international.com), “one of the best professional choruses on the international scene” (klassik-heute.com), “moments, which in their musical culture make the ensemble truly unique” (Münchner Merkur) – these comments and similar ones show that the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks is a leading figure in the world of choral music.

Frank Martin was on the program of Peter Dijkstra’s inaugural concert in October of 2005, when he – an authentic shooting star on the choral scene – assumed the direction of the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks at the sensationally young age of 0nly 26. The same composer is now also featured at the beginning of a-cappella production for the BR-KLASSIK label, on which the chorus presents itself under its director Peter Dijkstra. Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Chorus, which was not given its world première until 40 years after it was composed, has nevertheless ranked since then as one of the Swiss composer’s major works. Zoltán Kodály’s Missa brevis is directly marked by powerless despair over the horrors of World War II. Francis Poulenc’s Litanies à la Vierge Noire was prompted by a far more personal motivation. He composed the work on the death of his composer friend Pierre-Octave Ferroud in 1936, a short time after Poulenc had found his own way to religion on a pilgrimage.