On 28 November, as part of the Wien Modern festival, the SWR Vokalensemble will premiere the latest work by Alberto Posadas for double choir of 24 a cappella voices, under the baton of Marcus Creed.
In an exclusive foreword, Alberto Posadas details the highlights of his work:
"Ubi sunt qui ante nos in hoc mundo fuere? (Where are those who were before us?) raises a question that can be considered one of the last taboos of contemporary Western society: death, its ephemeral quality and its meaning in terms of the transcendence of life.
Our society of well-being avoids talking about death and presents this concept to us in a watered-down and distant fashion. The current pandemic has brought us, whether temporarily or not, to a situation where reality can no longer allow this taboo to survive.
The texts used for this choral work are the biblical text Ubi sunt itself, poems by Novalis, Stefan George and Maître Eckhart, a few verses from the Gospel According to Saint Mark, an inscription on a plaque in the crypt of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Capuccini in Rome, as well as texts written ad hoc for this work. This work aims therefore to create a bridge between the present and the past, as is the case throughout this preeminent text of medieval literature, the Ubi sunt.
We are familiar with the rarity and the depth of the creations of the Spanish composer, renowned for his narrative genius and his sonic creativity. It is therefore of no surprise that the enlightened management of the Wien Modern festival has chosen no other setting for this moment than the exceptional Viennese Konzerthaus, the birthplace of so many musical creations that have gone down in history.
Alberto Posadas - Ubi sunt
for 24 voices a capella in double choir
World premiere: November 25, 2022 - Wiener Konzerthaus - Mozartsaal
SWR Vokalensemble
Marcus Creed, conductor
More information...
French premiere: June 19, 2023 - Amphithéâtre de la Cité de la Musique (Paris) as part of the Ircam Manifeste festival
SWR Vokalensemble
Yuval Weinberg, conductor
Robin Meier, electronic Ircam
More information...
Consult the score on ISSUU
