Image: Plohe
The English translation of a Bible verse from the Gospel of Matthew, “Come to Me”, is the motto of the choral concert of the women’s ensemble of the Steyr State Music School on June 3rd in the parish church. women4voices (conductor Martin L. Fiala, piano accompaniment Luen Liang) dedicate themselves to the tradition of the English hymn, which is largely unknown in the German-speaking world.
One focus of the program is on new interpretations of traditional church hymns and settings of well-known Bible texts by the composer Dan Forrest. Furthermore, choral songs by the Norwegian composer Olja Gjeilo, by Franz Biebl, Eric Whitacre and David N. Childs will be heard.
Women4voices has existed with a changing cast for more than 20 years and is a fixed star in Steyr’s cultural sky. Since 2003 the women’s ensemble has been directed by Martin L. Fiala. A first big success was in 2004 and 2005 the classical crossover project “Adiemus” by Karl Jenkins in the St. Michael’s Church, where two concerts enthused more than a thousand visitors. One of the concerts was recorded and broadcast on ORF2 and 3Sat. The powerful-voiced ladies have also collaborated with other choirs in the past, for example they reinforced the celebratory concert celebrating the 170th anniversary of the Steyrer Sängerlust in 2014 with “Mass for Peace” by Karl Jenkins.
The year 2019 proved to be a great challenge for the ambitious women’s choir in performances of both classical and contemporary music. In April, women4voices sang the oratorio “Elias” by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy with Nowacanto and immediately afterwards in June together with the Akademische Bläserphilharmonie Martin L. Fialas “Weg des Friedens” (world premiere) and Symphony No.3 “Planet Earth” by Johan de Meij (born 1953) in Vienna. A highlight in the life of every musician is a performance in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, and this dream came true in December. Women4voices performed there together with a project choir specially assembled for this concert with the 2nd symphony “The Odyssey” by Alex Poelman (born 1981). On October 21, 2023, women4voices will be back in Garsten with “Adiemus”. (dmf)
Source: Nachrichten
