Arvo Pärt: Kanon Pokajanen Cappella Amsterdam & Daniel Reuss

• 1 Ode I 07:19
• 2 Ode III 11:22
• 3 Ode IV 06:49
• 4 Ode VI 08:11
• 5 Kontakion 02:25
• 6 Ikos 02:39
• 7 Ode VIII 04:27
• 8 Ode IX 06:16
• 9 Prayer after the canon 10:10
• Total Runtime 59:38

Info for Arvo Pärt: Kanon Pokajanen

„Cappella Amsterdam has performed something extraordinary!“ – Leidsch Dagblad wrote after the performance of Arvo Pärt's Kanon Pokajanen in 2015. The minimal side of his music places Pärt in a kind of meditative scope of composers who arouse deep emotions via slow movements and soft intensity.

The extensive Penitential Psalms for fourpart choir a cappella is a deeply religious question for forgiveness, written in Church Slavic. 'Inspired conductor and musicians, who interpret Pärt's music beautifully', one of the 160 fans wrote who donated to enable the production of a cd with this music.

Pärt's modern sacral music is balm for the soul and very popular, not only amongst singers. In this concert we are singing parts of his Kanon Pokajanen that is seldomly performed outside Estonia. The text of these Penitential Psalms is close to Pärts heart: “When I first came in contact with the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church I stumbled upon a text that made a great impression on me, even though I did not understand it then. It were the Penitential Psalms. Since then I have read and reread these verses, slowly and dedicatedly searching for their meaning.”

Cappella Amsterdam
Daniel Reuss, direction

Daniel Reuss
studied with Barend Schuurman at the Rotterdam Conservatory. In 1990, he became director of Cappella Amsterdam, which he turned into a full-time professional ensemble that is now one of the most sought after in the Netherlands.

From 2008 till 2013 he was also the artistic director/chief conductor of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir.

In 2010, he was nominated for a Grammy "best choral performance" for the cd he made with the two choirs together (Frank Martins Golgotha).

From 2003 until 2006 he was chief conductor of the RIAS Kammerchor in Berlin, with whom he recorded a number of successful CDs. Their CD with works by Martin and Messiaen (released by Harmonia Mundi) won both the "Diapason d'or de l'année 2004" and the "Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik". The CD's Les Noces, Le vin Herbé and Händels Solomon have also been critically acclaimed.

In summer 2006, at the invitation of Pierre Boulez, Daniel Reuss teached and conducted at the summer 2006 Lucerne Festival Academy.

In February 2007, Reuss made his debut at the English National Opera, with Händel's Agrippina. In 2008 he directed at De Munt/La Monnaie in Bruxelles, with the Dido & Aeneas-production of stage director Sasha Waltz.

From 2008 till 2013 he was the artistic director/chief conductor of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. In 2010, he was nominated with the Estonian Philharmonic Orchestra together with Cappella Amsterdam for a Grammy for best choral performance for the recording of Martin's Golgotha (harmonia mundi). The two choirs also worked together in a recording of Stabat Mater and Sept Répons de Ténèbres (Francis Poulenc), released in 2014 by Harmonia Mundi.

In September 2014 the cd Warum, choral works of Brahms, sang by Cappella Amsterdam was released. It won the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik beginning 2015.

Daniel Reuss has been invited to conduct chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout Europe. Among these may be mentioned the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, MusikFabrik, Scharoun Ensemble and the Radio Chamber Philharmonic.

From 2015 Daniel Reuss is chief conductor of Ensemble Vocal Lausanne.

Cappella Amsterdam
Cappella Amsterdam was established by Jan Boeke in 1970 and has, since 1990, been under the artistic leadership of Daniel Reuss. In recent years the choir has occupied a prominent position in the field of Dutch music and has also enjoyed great success in Europe and beyond. Cappella Amsterdam has thus played a vital role in the European Tenso Network of choirs.

Cappella Amsterdam is renowned for its homogenous, refined consonance and its extraordinary versatility. The choir excels in both modern repertoires as in music by the old masters and especially embraces the works of Dutch composers.

Cappella doesn’t only have success with its own productions but also with collaborations with other renowned choirs, ensembles and orchestras. Harmonia mundi released several CDs by Cappella Amsterdam, which were all praised. ‘Lux Aeterna’, for instance, which include works by Görgy Ligeti and Robert Heppener, was crowned with the ‘Diapason d’Or de l’année 2009’. The productions of Sweelinck and Frank Martin’s Golgotha (released by the same label in 2010) also welcomed rave revues.

In November of 2009 Cappella Amsterdam won the VSCD Klassieke Muziekprijs in the category ‘most impressive achievement of a small (chamber) ensemble’. The choir has again been recognised in 2010 and was shortlisted for the Amsterdam prize for the Arts, the Edison Classical Listeners award and the VSCD Classical Music award. For a recording of Martin's Golgotha, conducted by Daniel Reuss, the choir was nominated together with the Estonian Philharmonic Orchestra for a Grammy for best choral performance. In September 2014 the new cd ‘Warum ist das Licht gegeben den Mühseligen‘ with exceptional choral works by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was released in the Netherlands. Daniel Reuss and his Cappella Amsterdam are focussing on Brahms’ later choral works.

This album contains no booklet.