Junges Vokalensemble Hannover (Vocal Ensemble)

Founded: 1981 - Hannover, Germany

The Junges Vokalensemble Hannover (= JVEH), which includes about 50 singers, was created in 1981 by its artistic director, Klaus-Jürgen Etzold. Beside active and former students of the Musikhochschule Hannover, the JVEH also has non-musical members, with educational, commercial, technical or medical professions.

The JVEH is connected by a rich choir experience and the fun at common singing of fastidious choir music. The performance of a broadly varied repertoire is particularly important. Therefore the choir takes into its programmes, in addition to religious and a-cappella-music in regular intervals, also works with orchestra. Thus the JVEH has performed in the last two years the Mass in B minor (BWV 232) by J.S. Bach, and the Requiem of G. Verdi.

The emphasis of the repertoire is on unknown a-cappella literature of the 19^th and 20^th Centuries, which have been also broadcasted or published on CD. Since 1988 the JVEH has been invited by regularly by the Norddeutschen Rundfunk regularly as guest choir to productions, so that the choir can be often heard in the NDR, for example in the programmes "Glocken und Chor" und "Kantate". So far the choir released three CDs, J.S. Bach's Mass in B minor (BWV 232) (1996, live recording), Chorographie (1998), Skandinavische Chormusik (2000, Carus-Verlag).

The JVEH has sung many times on invitation premieres of contemporary works, some of them with orchestral accompaniment: in 1991 Prozession by Otfried Büsing, in 1992 Verzaubere mich in einen Silbervogel by Violeta Dinescu, in 1997 Die mit Tränen säen by Karl-Heinrich Büchsel (a cappella), in 1998 Opera Presto by Volker Grimsehl, and in 2000 "...et expectat et memenit..." by Reinhard Fuchs (a cappella).

In addition to the weekly rehearsals, concerts, broadcast and CD recordings, the JVEH has made tours, which led them to many European countries, as well as to Egypt and Israel. The choir has also participated successfully in several international choir competitions and won various prizes. Festivals and competitions give the choir often the possibility of becoming acquainted with new works and other choral traditions.

Source: Junges Vokalensemble Hannover Website, English translation by Aryeh Oron (May 2005)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (May 2005)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

Klaus-Jürgen Etzold

Choir

BWV 232

Links to other Sites

Junges Vokalensemble Hannover (Official Website) [German]

Deutschland: Junges Vokalensemble Hannover (Singkreis Porcia) [German]