Carmina Slovenica Handout

www.carminaa-slovenica.si/en

Founded in 1964 on the initiative of Janja Korosec Zizek and Dinko Fio. One choir in Maribor. Current Director, Karmina Silec, has been with the choir since 1989.

The “choir” is better know as a vocal theatre company and consists of Carmina Slovenica, ¡Kebataola! Ensemble, and the CS Children's Choir.

This company is all about pushing boundaries. They perform music that is rarely heard, whether that be medieval chant, or new compositions. Their performances involve costumes, set design, light, electronics, dance, narration, and unique vocal techniques, to name a few features.

Repertoire Recommendations (from the highlights listed on the website)

“Placebo- is there one who would not weep?”

• a production including repertoire by Pergolesi, Bach, J. Cooper, Vivaldi, P. Vasks, G.Bryars, and Karmina Silec
• a production of this magnitude requires a lot of various singing styles and techniques
• in the opening of the trailer, we hear a combination of beautiful blend and intonation as well as extended vocal techniques

“When the Mountain Changed its Clothing”

• by H. Goebbels with music by Silec, Brahms, Schonberg
• a statement on the changing face of politics, society and culture within the region of Kanin, Slovenia
• extraordinary use of intense expression through the changing “seasons” of the production
• the choir exerts power over the audience
• involves the children's choir

“Rusalki”

• exploration of the low register of the woman's voice
• difficult unison singing of chants requires excellent ensemble, balance, blend, and intonation
• a story about the restless spirits of women who have died accidentally or who have taken their own lives

“Toxic Psalms”

• a collection of open-ended scenes by various contemporary composers
• a great example of extended techniques
• brilliant use of facial expression and gesture
• the chorus “manifests a collective body and as an organism in reflects a human desire to merge”

“CS Light”

• involves the smaller ¡Kebataola! Ensemble
• an exploration of minimalist music from the USA, the Baltics, and Scandinavia
• requires a great deal of vocal independence

Other Recommendations

http://www.carmina-slovenica.si/en/choregie_eng/ - to learn more about the Choregie Idea of performing and teaching

http://www.carmina-slovenica.si/en/introduction/ - for an entire timeline of events (concerts, initiatives, competitions, awards) from 1964 to today. 

Choir Review: Carmina Slovenica

TED Talk: Lead Like the Great Conductors

What I found interesting about this TED Talk is that Itay Talgam does not express his own opinion on the "best" way to conduct. He simply shows us that there are several different styles used by several different world famous conductors, and that all of them achieve an end result of beautiful music. I enjoyed Talgam's light-hearted display and I enjoyed having the opportunity to choose my own "favourite" from his list of maestros.

Talgam uses the word "control" a lot and it takes on different meanings. How much control does the maestro have? What kind of control is it? Is he controlling time? Style? Sound? Everything? Nothing? Some conductors wish to control everything and everyone in their orchestra in order to achieve the interpretation of either himself or the composer. Others "compliment" the musicians by stepping back and letting a soloist or a section lead the orchestra with their own informed interpretation.

Of Talgam's demonstrations, my personal favourites were Carlos Kleiber and Leonard Bernstein. Both conductors expressed the intention of the music with their arms, their faces, and their entire bodies. You could see and hear this energy in each performer. This was a great example of what Talgam said near the beginning of his presentation: "The joy is about enabling other peoples' stories to be heard at the same time". This type of conductor, while having authority over his ensemble, is merely enabling his musicians to be musicians.