The Light of Paradise The Zurich Chamber Singers, sonic.art Saxophonquartett & Christian Erny

• Paul Mealor (b. 1975): No.:
• 1 Mealor: No.: I 05:12
• 2 Mealor: No.: II 02:46
• 3 Mealor: No.: III 02:44
• 4 Mealor: No.: IV 04:13
• 5 Mealor: No.: V 02:22
• 6 Mealor: No.: VI 03:47
• 7 Mealor: No.: VII 02:18
• 8 Mealor: No.: VIII 03:49
• 9 Mealor: No.: IX 03:15
• 10 Mealor: No.: X 02:13
• 11 Mealor: No.: XI 04:06
• 12 Mealor: No.. XII 02:20
• 13 Mealor: No.: XIIIa 03:02
• 14 Mealor: No.: XIIIb 04:14
• 15 Mealor: No.: XIV 05:16
• Total Runtime 51:37

Info for The Light of Paradise

The Zurich Chamber Singers are collaborating with renowned composer Paul Mealor and the sonic. art saxophone quartet for a unique and special project on their album to be released in 2024. Mealor has composed 14 short pieces inspired by the travels of Margery Kempe, the author of one of the earliest known autobiographies in English literature, ‘The Book of Margery Kempe’. This album brings to life Kempe's extensive pilgrimages to holy sites such as Jerusalem, Rome, Santiago de Compostela and Canterbury, capturing her profound spiritual experiences. Through this innovative musical journey, the Zurich Chamber Singers illuminate the remarkable legacy of Margery Kempe.

Zurich Chamber Singers
sonic. art Saxophone Quartet
Christian Erny, conductor

Zurich Chamber Singers
Founded in 2015 by Christian Erny, the Zurich Chamber Singers are now one of the most most promising and interesting choirs of the younger generation. Praised for its sensitive sound culture and innovative programs, the ensemble performs in halls such as the Brucknerhaus Linz, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and the Tonhalle Zurich and with orchestras such as the such as the Musikkollegium Winterthur, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and the CHAARTS chamber artists. The stylistic versatility of the choir is reflected in its highly acclaimed discography and its already considerable number of world premieres and first recordings. Among the composers with whom the Zurich Chamber Singers have worked are others Paul Mealor, Caroline Shaw and Marcus Paus. In the near future new compositions by David Philipp Hefti and Alfred Felder will be premiered by the ensemble in the near future. The choir covers a broad repertoire from Renaissance polyphony to the choral symphonies of the twentieth century. twentieth century choral symphonic music and has worked with conductors such as Roberto González-Monjas, Joana Carneiro and Fabio Biondi.

The sonic.art saxophone quartet
is a chamber music ensemble with an international flair. The current members live in Berlin and hail from Belarus, Australia, Japan and Germany and have studied in Berlin, Paris, Lyon, Amsterdam and Vienna.

Sonic.art was founded in 2005 and has since then made a name for itself in various line-ups thanks to prestigious prizes and awards at national and international competitions. Included among these are the award of 1st prize and the Grand Prix of the International Chamber Music Competition for New Music in Cracow, the Prize of the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb and the Bergamo Classical Music Award.

To follow came tours and masterclasses throughout Europe, as well as every other continent. Performances at renowned festivals have included Warsaw Autumn, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein Festival, Kurt Weill Festival, Festival of Mexico, Festival Symphonique Algiers and the Curitiba Jazz Meeting.

sonic.art has performed concertos for saxophone quartet and orchestra with the Staatskapelle Weimar, Nürnberger Symphoniker and Sinfonieorchester Aachen. In 2023 the quartet will perform the world premiere of a new concerto by Elean Firsova with the Bruckner Orchestra Linz.

The ensemble’s critically acclaimed performances in 2018 celebrated Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday, everywhere from Hamburg to the Mosel music festival. The quartet were recently artists in residence at the Canberra International Music Festival (Australia) and performances at the Grafenegg Festival (Austria), MDR Musiksommer, Europäische Wochen Festival in Passau and a WDR3 Funkhauskonzert for the West German Radio in Cologne. Other highlights include performances for the chamber music society Hanover, at the Staatstheater Darmstadt, Theater Schweinfurt and together with the WDR Choir.

A project of note is sonic.arts musical accompaniment to Walter Ruttmanns legendary silent documentary film from 1927 ‘Berlin – Sinfonie der Großstadt’ (‚Berlin – Symphony of a metropolis‘). This film concert has been performed by the quartet on tour in Australia, at the Musikfestpiele Saar and of course in Berlin.

Sonic.art has found a style to call its own. The careful and sensitive selection of projects, concert programmes and collaborators as well as the stage presence, charm and an eye for subtlety have gained the four saxophonists of sonic.art a reputation as a high-flying ensemble.

The core of the repertoire contains the rich original literature of the recent past, as well as arrangements of well-known works from the baroque, classical and romantic periods. The ensemble has also collaborated with new music composers and commissioned new works. sonic.art has recently worked on new concert forms and projects with the support of funding from Musikfonds and the Deutscher Musikrat as part of the German Neustart Kultur programme.

Two CDs have recently been released on the Label MDG: ‘Astor Piazzolla: Tango’ (2022) pays tribute to the famous composer/performer with new arrangements of some of his most memorable works. The latest release ‘Early 20th Century Music‘ (2023) includes new arrangements of music by Max Butting, Hans Gal, Hanns Eisler and others. A selection of the repertoire, including works by Ligeti, Glass, Shostakovich, Glazunov and Gubaidulina have been released on three CDs with the label GENUIN classics, in collaboration with the German national radio station Deutschlandfunk. The recordings feature collaborations with the trombonist Christian Lindberg, soprano Evelina Dobračeva and accordionist Valentin Butt.

Christian Erny
The young Swiss conductor Christian Erny is recognized by numerous orchestras and ensembles for his his stylistic diversity, sensitive programming and dedication to musical detail. musical detail work. As founder and artistic director of the professional choir The Zurich Chamber Singers Erny performs in halls such as the Brucknerhaus Linz, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and the Tonhalle Zurich. As a guest conductor, he has recently worked with orchestras such as the Kurpfälzisches Chamber Orchestra Mannheim, the Württemberg Philharmonic Orchestra Reutlingen and the Theater Orchestra Biel Solothurn. In the coming seasons, he will appear for the first time with the Musikkollegium Winterthur and the argovia philharmonic. He has already conducted a large number of premieres and has worked with some of today's most prominent composers.

Christian Erny studied piano, conducting and music theory at the Zurich University of the Arts, the Jacobs School of Music and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Before devoting himself exclusively to conducting, concerts as a pianist took him to many European countries, the USA and South America. South America. His recordings have been awarded prizes such as the Gramophone Editor's Choice and nominated for the German Record Award. He is also a prizewinner of the Île de France international piano competition. In 2019, he was honored by his hometown Winterthur honored him with the Kulturförderpreis.

This album contains no booklet.