The Dormition Abbey of Jerusalem opens its doors again with a concert performed by the Cologne Cathedral Boys' Choir. Conductor: Eberhard Metternich

Following three years of closure of the Dormition Abbey Jerusalem, due to extensive renovations, the faces of people entering the Mt. Zion church once again conveyed curiosity and exhilaration. The occasion was a concert on March 22nd 2023 to celebrate the reopening of the Dormition Abbey. The concert featured the Cologne Cathedral Boys' Choir (Germany), joined by a small group of young adult singers from Cologne Cathedral and conducted by Prof. Eberhard Metternich. The audience was welcomed by Fr. Simeon Gloger. 

 

The Cologne Cathedral Boys' Choir, the only boys’ choir in Cologne, is the oldest of the four choirs of the Cathedral, re-established in 1863 to continue the centuries-old Cathedral choral tradition. The choir sings for services and concerts in the Cathedral, performing repertoire that spans from Renaissance- to contemporary works. Appearing in national- and international competitions, it has toured Europe and  the Americas. As of 1987, Eberhard Metternich has been Master of  Cathedral Music, conducting the Cathedral Choir and the Cologne Cathedral Vocal Ensemble.

 

Opening with Melchior Frank's canonic "Da pacem Domine" (Give peace, Lord), the Jerusalem program  gave a representative selection of the choral works and styles in the choir's repertoire. We heard well-defined, articulate readings of the interplay of voices and complexities in works by Palestrina, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's lush, dynamic settings of sacred texts, and the choir's singing of Anton Bruckner's spectacular but prayerful "Locus iste" (This place was made by God), also Bruckner’s seven-voiced "Ave Maria" (1869), giving expression to the composer’s rich palette of Romantic colour and contrasts. There were several late-19th century and early 20th century pieces: a nicely varied performance, including some solo singing, of a setting of Psalm 130 by the eminent (but today little-known) German composer Heinrich Kaminski and an imposing performance of Darius Milhaud's setting of the Psalm 121 for a cappella men's choir, in which the composer depicts a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, its blend of resonant male chorus textures with modal scales indeed striking, with the piece culminating in a thrilling bitonal chord. Contending well with English texts, the choir sang a number of works from the British Isles: George Rathbone's vibrant, forthright anthem "Rejoice in the Lord Alway", Hubert Parry’s "I was glad when they said", Parry's festive, celebratory setting of words from Psalm 122 composed for the coronation of Edward VII, here, so aptly including "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces"; and the touching simplicity and innocence of "Look at the world", John Rutter's harvest anthem composed to his own lyrics.

 

As to works of the 20th century, we heard two tonal pieces - the hymnal-styled "Singen von Gottes Wegen" (Sing in God's ways) by Christian Matthias Heiss, head of the Regensburger Domspatzen, and a fresh, energetic presentation of Norwegian orchestral and choral composer Knut Nystedt's "Laudate Dominum" (Praise the Lord). For their performance of "Lux Aurumque" (Light and Gold), American composer Eric Whitacre's a cappella Christmas piece composed in 2000, the singers were positioned around the walls of the church and in the chancel, creating a shell of scintillating sound to transfuse the space with Whitacre's glorious and haunting hallmark timbres of pure harmonies and clusters, here set against a sustained note, creating a slowly evolving otherworldly wash of colours and light. Metternich and his singers gave eloquent statement to the guidelines appearing on Whitacre's score, advising that " if the tight harmonies are carefully tuned and balanced they will shimmer and glow." 

 

In addition to conducting a few of the works, choir assistant Simon Schuttemeier performed verses and the Canzona in C major by Domenico Zipoli from the "Sonate d'Intavolatura per Organo e Cimbali".ture. The festive concert closed with a contemporary arrangement of "O little town of Bethlehem", the warmth and sincerity of  Bob Chilcott's setting of the "Irish Blessing" and the full, swaying, hearty canvas of Cologne cantor Oliver Sperling's "Am Dom zo Kölle", the latter piece painting a vibrant musical scene of the life and sounds of the Cologne Cathedral.

 

Under the dedicated guidance of Prof. Metternich, the young singers, aged 10 to 29, displayed competence, fine intonation and an understanding of musical styles and colour, making for an evening of polished performance, beauty of sound and genuine pleasure.