The Longest Night Chamber Choir Ilmatar, conducted by Imre Ploeg Featuring Ibrahim Kevo and NEuE String Trio
The Longest Night Chamber Choir Ilmatar, conducted by Imre Ploeg Featuring Ibrahim Kevo and NEuE String Trio
Performed by:
- Chamber Choir Ilmatar, conducted by Imre Ploeg
- Featuring Ibrahim Kevo on vocals
- New European String Trio
Tickets: https://www.koortickets.nl/ticketshop.php?ids=340
Date & Time:
Friday, December 20, 8:15 PM
Venue: Oude of Pelgrimvaders Kerk, Aelbrechtskolk 22, 3024 RE Rotterdam
In The Longest Night, Chamber Choir Ilmatar honors the winter solstice with a musical celebration of the rebirth of light. As part of a series of concerts running from December 13 to 21, the choir performs pieces that embody hope for the coming spring and the return of light. The program weaves together music from across Western, Northern, and Eastern Europe, as well as the Middle East, featuring Armenian singer Ibrahim Kevo.
The concert takes the audience on a journey from quiet, reflective beginnings to an uplifting, jubilant conclusion. The repertoire includes 16th-century mystical French music, modern Norwegian folk, and ancient folk songs from Romania, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Contemporary compositions by Silvestrov, Cecilia McDowall, and Ola Gjeilo add to the diverse program, which reflects various spiritual traditions and cultural rituals.
The performance unfolds as a musical ritual that celebrates the rebirth of light, with moments of reflection and hope during the darkest time of the year. The lighting of candles during the concert symbolizes the passage through the longest night, inviting a sense of renewal and anticipation for Christmas.
Concert Dates:
- Saturday, December 14, 8:15 PM – Mennonite Community, Oudegracht 270, Utrecht
- Sunday, December 15, 3:30 PM – German Evangelical Community, Bleijenburg 3B, The Hague
- Friday, December 20, 8:15 PM – Oude of Pelgrimvaders Kerk, Aelbrechtskolk 22, 3024 RE Rotterdam
(In collaboration with members of the New European Ensemble) - Saturday, December 21, 8:15 PM – German Evangelical Community, Bleijenburg 3B, The Hague
Program Highlights:
- Francis Poulenc: Quatre Motets pour le Temps de Noël
- Traditional Romanian: Sculați, gazde, nu dormiți
- Traditional Czech: Byla cesta
- Valentin Silvestrov: Spy, Isuse
- Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: Hodie Christus natus est
- Juris Karlsons: Gaisma
- Johannes Brahms: O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf
- Ben Parry: Lighten our Darkness
- Cecilia McDowall: O Oriens
- Ola Gjeilo: Serenity (O Magnum Mysterium)
- William Byrd: O Magnum Mysterium
- Ørjan Matre: Mitt Hjerte alltid vanker
- Four Kurdish, Assyrian, Yazidi, and Armenian songs about light and birth. these songs are arranged by Nareg Abajian.
Special pieces performed by the New European String Trio (December 20th):
- Zaid Jabri: String trio with electronics about darkness and light (10 minutes)
- Seung Won Oh – Spiccato ( 2 minutes)
- Willem Breuker: Fidget (violin solo, 6 minutes)
- Kate Moore – Tarantella ( 6 minutes)
Ibrahim Kevo (Syria/ Germany) like no other, this Syrian-Armenian singer and multi-instrumentalist represents the multi-faceted musical culture of Mesopotamia. He has performed solo recitals and concerts in the Elbphilharmonie, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Kölner Philharmonie, as well as concerts and recordings with the NDR Bigband and many other international ensembles.
