Primordial Light

"Urlicht", the title of this extraordinary program, not only refers to the 4th movement of the so-called "Resurrection Symphony", but also names the common thread that runs through the - entirely German or German-language - selection of works: "Urlicht is the soul's questioning and struggling for God and for its own divine existence beyond this life". The Urlicht is the soul's questioning and struggle for God and for its own divine existence beyond this life", is how Gustav Mahler described what the text from the collection of poems "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" meant to him, which he initially conceived as part of a song cycle and then placed at the center of his 2nd Symphony.Mahler also opted for the orchestral song form for the setting of Rückert's poem "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" - another German poet provided the basis for Brahms' Schicksalslied with his poem: Friedrich Hölderlin. "And the blessed eyes gaze in silent eternal clarity." Alongside the Schicksalslied is another of his great works for choir and orchestra: the alto rhapsody on a text by Goethe: the "Harzreise im Winter". These settings of quasi-religious texts culminate in the explicitly biblical text of Max Reger's monumental 100th Psalm.At the center of the concert is Psalm 100 by Max Reger. An exciting work in its chromaticism with echoes of Johann Sebastian Bach. It is rarely heard in a choral concert, partly because it is a challenge for amateur choirs and partly because it does not require any soloists.With Mahler and Reger, the Oratorienchor Baselland is breaking new ground. It is supported in this innovative program by just one soloist: alto Seda Amir-Karayan, who has already made a name for herself with German art song - and for the first time by the Basel Chamber Orchestra.Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.