Eurovision melody unites five cities
In the beginning there was – the PANDEMIC… choir singing was suddenly considered a dangerous “risky sport” and was forbidden! However, it was not forbidden to sing alone at home. In the course of spring 2020, the “stay-at-home style” also developed in the Stuttgarter Oratorienchor.
Enrico Trummer, the musical director, therefore asked himself the following question: Couldn’t a virtual project bring together and inspire choir singers even “across borders” from different European countries? The famous Eurovision melody from the “Te Deum” by M.A. Charpentier seemed particularly suitable. Everyone knows this melody and it exalts the European sense of community with its radiance and festivity. This idea slowly took shape: The Trummer couple created digitally dispatchable music files in which they recorded all four voices themselves and added a suitable harpsichord accompaniment to the “Prélude”.
Successful search for suitable choirs in the area of Stuttgart’s twin cities – and beyond
It all started with Cardiff. The Stuttgarter Oratorienchor had encounter concerts with the Cardiff Bach Choir in 2015 and 2016. The contact was activated again in autumn and winter 2020. With the help of the music files sent, several singers from the choir there produced small “selfie videos” in “stay-at-home style” according to the patterns provided.
Strasbourg should also be there. After discussions and correspondence with the director of the Choeur de Saint-Guillaume, Dr. Nicolas Greib, things fortunately worked out there too: several singers, including the conductor Edlira Priftuli, took part with their videos.
The Stuttgarter Oratorienchor has also had musical collaborations with Brno. Thanks to the help of Robert Kudelka, head of the Brno cultural office, the Brno Philharmonic Choir was found. Extensive e-mail correspondence with various representatives of the choir including its director Petr Kolar finally succeeded. Additional stay-home videos of choir members were sent to Stuttgart.
In the end, even Trento was added. A large concert project had been planned with the Coro Filarmonico Trentino in 2020: Three concerts were supposed to take place in Bressanone, Rovereto and Trento together with the Haydn Orchestra Bolzano. Unfortunately, they had to be cancelled for well-known reasons. The virtual European choir project was accepted there with joy. Many members, including the director Sandro Filippi, also sent in their videos.
Diversity leads to harmony
More than 50 (!) “stay-home videos” – including many contributions by the Stuttgarter Oratorienchor – “simply” had to be put together to create an artistically sophisticated video. The interactions between dice and boards implements the unique character of this “national diverse” choir in an extraordinary creative and virtuoso way. The result is dedicated to this year’s Europe Day for inspiring hope and bringing joy – also and especially in particularly difficult times!