The Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam has had a name to uphold since its foundation in 1829. In earlier times, it was invariably on hand when the Concertgebouw Orchestra and Willem Mengelberg performed large-scale choral works.
Although the choir is still made up of amateurs and its connection with the illustrious orchestra has weakened, it still puts (very) demanding pieces on the lecterns.
For example, on Tuesday 10 December 2013, it provided an all-Russian programme at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, featuring the Coronation Scene from Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky; The Bells by Rachmaninov and Peasant Wedding (Les noces) by Stravinsky. Repetitor Paul Prenen made a version for choir and two pianos of the first two pieces, and took one of the two piano parts himself. Peasant Wedding sounded in Stravinsky's own version of four pianos, six percussionists, mixed choir and four soloists.
In his own words, Stravinsky had thereby designed a "perfectly homogeneous, perfectly impersonal and perfectly mechanical" ensemble, which he considered suitable to underline the ritual character of such a village wedding. After all, there was a marriage brought about by a matchmaker and handled according to strict rules. Consequently, the characters are not personal characters but stereotypes - for instance, the role of the groom is sometimes played by a tenor, sometimes by a bass. The choir's parts are so motoric that the singers too become, as it were, percussion instruments.
Led by conductor Boudewijn Jansen and assisted by master students from the Royal Conservatoire, the choir gave a spot-on performance of Mussorgsky and Rachmaninov. Stravinsky's dog-eared piece followed after the break. The Toonkunst Choir had asked me to provide a brief on-stage commentary prior to the performance. This was illustrated with live sung music samples and this was not only fun to do, but also worked enlightening for both the audience and the choir members themselves.
With admirable commitment, Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam performed the unparalleled complex rhythms of Stravinsky's Peasant Wedding, based on originally Russian themes. Although things did not come together exactly at all moments rhythmically, it was a performance of stature. The soloists were also well worth hearing, with the standouts being the madcap bass Werner van Mechelen and the mischievous Helena Rasker. I know of no other amateur choir that dares to put this challenging work on the lecterns.
In the run-up to the concerts, the 80-plus choir members and permanent conductor Boudewijn Jansen sacrificed months of weekends and evenings to rehearse this beautifully cohesive programme. Tomorrow, Saturday 14 December, it can be heard again, at the Dr Anton Philipszaal in The Hague, as part of the festival Day in the Branding. I made a short report on the rehearsal process for the TROS 4 programme Request on 4, which was broadcast on Radio 4 on 1 December 2013. This is here to listen.
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