Madrigal:The Silk Road

Tour of the National Chamber Choir

“Madrigal – Marin Constantin” (Romania)

Choral Music Concert

Madrigal:The Silk Road

THE CONCERT IS HELD IN KAZAKH AND RUSSIAN

Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Please note that the age limit is 10+

Management reserves the right to substitute performers and works performed

 As part of its tour, the National Chamber Choir of Romania “Madrigal – Marin Constantin” presents the concert “Madrigal: The Silk Road.” This performance is a kind of musical journey along the ancient Silk Road, featuring works sung in Chinese, Kazakh and Georgian, as well as texts representing the cultures of Persia, India and Europe from the Byzantine Empire and the Renaissance era.

The Madrigal Chamber Choir was founded in 1963 by the legendary musician and conductor Marin Constantin (1925–2011). Since then, the choir’s stage presence and artistic structure have been continually refined, leading critics to compare its performances to “a Stradivarius violin in the hands of Paganini”.

Madrigal Choir has received numerous international awards and has performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages. Over the 62-year history, the ensemble has given concerts in more than 450 cities across nearly 40 countries on 4 continents. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the choir’s founder, Marin Constantin, and a wide range of cultural projects will be held throughout the year in his honour.

The choir is unique not only for its distinctive sound: audiences will also see the artists in their signature Renaissance costumes — a hallmark of the ensemble for over 60 years.

Conductor Anna Ungureanu and director Emil Pantelimon present a two-part concert programme, which opens with the national anthems of Kazakhstan and Romania and features a wide range of works — from well-known madrigals and motets by Renaissance composers such as Orlando di Lasso, Francesco Landini and Baltasare Donatti, to choral works by Georgian, Moldovan, Japanese and Romanian composers of various eras, along with arrangements of traditional Kazakh folk songs.

PROGRAMME:

First Part

Shamshi Kaldayakov. My Kazakhstan (National Anthem of Kazakhstan)

Anton Pann. Deșteaptă-te, române! (National Anthem of Romania)

Thomas Morley. Now is the Month of Maying

Francis Pilkington. Rest Sweet Nymphs

Juan del Encina. Fata la parte

Anonymus. Ay! Linda amig. Soloist: Renata Petrică

Frederico de Brito, Ferrer Trindade, D. J. Ferreira. Canção do Mar. Arrangement by Grigore Cudalbu. Soloist: Denis Maxım; Percussion: Emanuel Pecingină

Orlando di Lasso. Matona mia cara

Francesco Landini. Ecco la primavera. Percussion: Emanuel Pecingină and Georgian Ilie

Baltasare Donatti. Gagliarda

Claudio Monteverdi. Cantate Domino

Byzantine Orthodox non-canonical Byzantine Florilegium. Structured by Marin Constantin (fragments):

1. Gavriil Musicescu. Hristos anesti

2. Ioan Hrisafi. Aghios o, Theos

Soloist: Bogdan Andronache; Percussion: Emanuel Pecingină

Second Part

Georgian Folk Song Tu ești via. Arrangement by Zakaria Paliashvili

Corneliu Cezar. Flames and Wheels (fragments). Soloists: Denis Maxim and Silviu Rusu; Percussion: Emanuel Pecingină

Kazakh Folk Song Yapurai. Arrangement by Abzal Mukhitdin,  Kaddeli Aubakirova

Kazakh Folk Song Agugai. Transcription for piano and choir by Lyazzat Zhumanova; Piano: Abel Corban

Chinese Folk Song Swan Goose. Arrangement by Xin Huguang

Mihai Moldovan. Fluierașe și buciume

Yoshinao Nakada. I Found a Tiny Autumn. Piano: Abel Corban

Angelina Miroshnikova. A Medley of Kazakh Folk Songs

PERFROMED BY:

Madrigal Chamber Choir (Romania)

Conductor: Anna Ungureanu

Director: Emil Pantelimon

Tickets purchased at the State Opera and Ballet Theatre “Astana Opera” are subject to exchange and refund only in cases of cancellation or postponement of performances. In all other cases, no refunds or exchanges will be made.