O Listen to the Music of Uroš Krek and Else Marie Pade Danish National Vocal Ensemble & Martina Batič

• Uroš Krek (1922 - 2008): Three Autumn Songs (1991):
• 1 Krek: Three Autumn Songs (1991): I. O Listen 02:40
• 2 Krek: Three Autumn Songs (1991): II. Some deep song 02:00
• 3 Krek: Three Autumn Songs (1991): III. Come Away 03:05
• Vöra bije (1997):
• 4 Krek: Vöra bije (1997) 03:44
• Salmo XLII (Desiderium exsulis) (1991):
• 5 Krek: Salmo XLII (Desiderium exsulis) (1991) 04:30
• Samotno ugibanje (1987, rev. 1998):
• 6 Krek: Samotno ugibanje (1987, rev. 1998) 04:12
• Vester, Camenae (1994):
• 7 Krek: Vester, Camenae (1994) 06:40
• Else Marie Pade (1924 - 2016): Korsatser (arr. 2009):
• 8 Pade: Korsatser (arr. 2009): I. I drømme 02:20
• 9 Pade: Korsatser (arr. 2009): II. Den hvide nat 03:28
• 10 Pade: Korsatser (arr. 2009): III. Midsommervise 03:08
• Völo-spa hoc est (1956):
• 11 Pade: Völo-spa hoc est (1956) 07:17
• Maria (1980):
• 12 Pade: Maria (1980): I. Venerari (To fear) 02:30
• 13 Pade: Maria (1980): II. Amare (To love) 02:07
• 14 Pade: Maria (1980): III. Mirari (To wonder) 02:30
• 15 Pade: Maria (1980): IV. Pati (To suffer) 01:33
• 16 Pade: Maria (1980): V. Contristari (To mourn) 01:35
• 17 Pade: Maria (1980): VI. Desidare (To long) 02:14
• 18 Pade: Maria (1980): VII. Judicare (To judge) 02:41
• 19 Pade: Maria (1980): VIII. Scire (To know) 02:22
• 20 Pade: Maria (1980): IX. Orare (To pray) 02:22
• 21 Pade: Maria (1980): X. Sanctificare (To be sanctified) 02:15
• 22 Pade: Maria (1980): XI. Vivere (To live) 02:20
• Total Runtime 01:07:33

Info for O Listen to the Music of Uroš Krek and Else Marie Pade

The latest release from the internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning Danish National Vocal Ensemble marks an extraordinary milestone in the choir's history with the appointment of their new Chief Conductor, Martina Batic, and it was clear from the very beginning there was a special connection between her and the choir's singers!

For her OUR Recordings debut, maestra Batic has chosen the works of two composers, both of whom may well come as revelations to music lovers. Opening the album is a selection of works from one of the musical heroes of her homeland, the Slovenian composer Uros Krek. Highly regarded in his homeland, Krek's stylistically accessible, well-crafted music is seldom heard internationally, making this musical encounter particularly valuable. A fluid pan-tonality informed the Three Autumn Songs while the other selections freely draw upon folk-influences and orthodox polyphony.

As a calling card to her new Danish friends, Maestra Batic makes an extraordinary artistic statement presenting the choral music of Else Marie Pade! Rightly celebrated as one of the pioneers of electronic music, Pade also composed an extraordinary catalogue of works for acoustic instruments and voice. As beautifully score the pair of stunning works from the 1950s are, nothing could prepare us for the World Premiere Recording of Pade's extraordinary Maria (1980) scored for coloratura soprano, bass baritone, speaking choir and 7 trombones, and electronic sounds. Written as spiritual self-solace to comfort her from her trauma during the war, Maria is a modernist musical Rosary, and a masterwork of contemporary religious music. Truly, Martina Batic and the Danish National Vocal Ensemble has taken us on an amazing journey you will not want to miss!

‘The Danish National Vocal Ensemble's rendition leaves nothing to be desired in either Else Marie Pade or Uroš Krek; on the contrary, it is fascinating over long stretches due to the fully utilised sound possibilities, which are further enhanced by the recording technology. The 18 voices cover a wide spectrum of colours, from gothic bass tones to spherical soprano sounds, with the first soprano Anna Miilmann in Maria brilliantly mastering the virtuoso demands. In the harmony of all the voices, you can even hear an imaginary orchestra in the a cappella singing. The booklet contains all the sung texts in the original and in English translation, and the English essays on the two composers, of whom Krek at least is probably not very well known in this country, are very helpful.’ (Ekkehard Pluta, lassik-heute.de)

Danish National Vocal Ensemble
Martina Batič, conductor

Martina Batič
The sought-after Slovenian conductor Martina Batič will be the Danish National Vocal Ensemble’s new Chief Conductor, succeeding the Englishman Marcus Creed.

obtained her Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Ljubljana Music Academy in 2002. She continued her studies at the Munich Academy of Music and Theatre in the class of Prof. Michael Gläser, where she finished her Masters in Choral Conducting with distinction in 2004. Since then Ms. Batič attended master classes throughout Europe and worked with renowned choral conductors including the acclaimed Eric Ericson.

From 2004 to 2009, she was the choirmaster of the Slovenian National Opera House chorus in the nation's capital - Ljubljana. From 2009, she worked as the choral director of the Slovenian Philharmonics, where she also assumed the position of the artistic director of the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir in 2012/2013 season and led its programmatic and artistic agenda until December 2017.

In 2006, Martina Batič won the Eric Ericson Award in this prestigious international competition for young conductors. Since then she has been engaged by the Danish Radio Choir, Danish Vocal Ensemble, Deutsche Kammerchor, BR Chor,ChorwerkRuhr, Det Norske Solistkor and others, moreover she regularly collaborates with the Swedish Radio Choir, the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, RIAS Kammerchor, The Netherlands Radio Choir, Flemish Radio Choir, MDR Chor, SWR Chor, etc.

Her particularly notable performances in the recent years include the concert with the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir in Stockholm celebrating the 90th birthday of composer Ingvar Lidholm (2011), a series of concerts featuring the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra in Ljubljana (2013), the concert with the Swedish Radio Choir at the Baltic Sea Festival (2013), the concert with MDR choir at the Achava Festival (2016), and lately, the concert with Det Norske Solistkor at Ultima Festival (2019). With the Radio France Choir, concerts for the Présences Festival every year since 2017, the concert for the 150th birthday of the Chorégies d’Orange (2019) and a concert opening the season 19-20 at the Grand Théâtre de Provence in Aix en Provence. ​

Martina Batič regularly rehearses with distinguished European choirs in order to present concerts featuring celebrated conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Jaap van Zweden, Gianandrea Noseda, Emmanuel Villaume, Markus Stenz, Mikko Franck, James Gaffigan, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Leonard Slatkin, Charles Dutoit, Franz Welser-Möst, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Kent Nagano and others.

Since September 2018 she took over the position of the Musical Director of the Choeur de Radio France in Paris. In February 2019 she received Slovenian National Prize “Prešeren Fund Awards 2019” for her artistic achievements in choral conducting for the past three years.

This album contains no booklet.