Christmas Songs and Carols - Ivan Kurz
"These arrangements of Christmas songs and carols for children choir a capella were written in 2004. The original impetus came from Professor Jiří Chvála, the choirmaster of Kühn's Children Choir. I worked on the assignment with much joy in my heart; Christmas carols are, after all, unique in their musical purity, their thematic chastity, they announce hope and love.
To make the whole collection a logical unit from the dramatic point of view, I arranged the pieces to follow what might be called a story-line: from the nocturnal revelation, the nativity scene, and the relationship between the child and the mother to the glorification of God's grandeur, the ensuing tribute paid by the carol singers, and, finally, back to the stillness of the silent night. Besides the generally popular carols I selected also some less well-known songs in order to emphasize the immense breadth of folk art and its ability to express the purest emotions. Carols should remain a permanent mirror that would remind us all throughout the year of the crucial dimension of our lives that we have almost lost already - the pure, burning heart. The entire cycle was created and should be felt as a whole, but the individual scenes within this whole are sequenced chronologically: the night, the annunciation to the shepherds, the nativity scene, Jesus' cradle, Gloria, the carol singers and an epilogue. The collection consists of 22 Christmas songs and carols. The premiere took place on 17th December 2006, and I felt much honoured that it was performed by Jiří Chvála and Kühn's Children Choir. My thanks also go to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, our supreme cultural institution, for including the work in a cycle of choral concerts."
Other compositions by Ivan Kurz published in Czech Radio:
Adamu
Angelic Landscapes for barytone and grand orchestra
Expectations
Gendarmerie Humoresques, suite for orchestra
I Can Hear the Angels Sing
Living Spirit
The Feathers of the Firebird
instrumentationcoro bambinodescriptionscore, particellipubl.NoR 148price245,- CZK