Beethoven’s Eroica and choir music from Belarus and Ukraine | Vitaly Alekseenok, Free Choir & others

A concert like no other: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 formed the backdrop to the highly political Campus Concert at the Beethovenfest Bonn 2022. Under the general direction of Vitaly Alekseenok, the Campus Project Ensemble performed with young musicians from Belarus, Germany and Ukraine. In addition, the Volny Chor (also called the Free Choir) sang, along with the Concordia Choir from Belarus, the Gewandhaus Youth Choir from Germany and the Sophia Chamber Choir from Ukraine. Besides Beethoven’s Eroica, the program included choral works by contemporary Belarusian, German and Ukrainian composers that address themes of perseverance, freedom, peace, and reconciliation. The highlight of this concert by young Eastern European musicians was the world premiere of The Sky of Mary, a work by Belarusian composer Olga Podgaiskaya. Four short videos illustrating the project work were also shown. In keeping with the political theme, the performance took place in the former West German parliament’s historic plenary hall.

In the exciting dramaturgy of the Campus Concert, the four movements of Beethoven’s Eroica are not just performed separately, but also as chamber music – in arrangements by four different composers. Three of the arrangers were contemporaries of Ludwig van Beethoven, plus the Ukrainian composer Maxim Kolomiiets, born in 1961.

The choral works sung between Beethoven‘s symphonic movements revolve around themes such as war and atrocities, but also the longing for peace and the struggle for freedom. Prayer texts are also included. Olga Podgaiskaya’s The Sky of Mary, commissioned by Deutsche Welle, focuses on the political situation in Belarus. Podgaiskaya dedicated The Sky of Mary to her long-time friend, Belarusian dissident Maria Kolesnikova, who became known worldwide in 2020 for her courage at the forefront of the uprising and has been imprisoned ever since. The text for The Sky of Mary was written by the poet Andrey Khadanovich (*1973), also Belarusian, in close collaboration with Podgaiskaya.

00:00 Intro

00:34 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, ‘Eroica’
I. Allegro con brio
Arr. by Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838)
CAMPUS PROJECT ENSEMBLE

18:13 Gregor Meyer (*1979)
Da pacem Domine
CAMPUS PROJECT CHOIR
FRANK-STEFFEN ELSTER | CONDUCTOR

22:40 Video: The Power of Music

24:24 Anatoly Bogatyrev (1913 – 2003)
Spicie ŭsie tyja
CAMPUS PROJECT CHOIR
GALINA KASIMIROVSKAYA | CONDUCTOR

29:10 Larisa Simakovich (*1978)
Pry krajčyku, pri Dunajčyku
CAMPUS PROJECT CHOIR
GALINA KASIMIROVSKAYA | CONDUCTOR

31:37 Video: Sophia Chamber Choir, Ukraine

33:16 Hanna Havrylets (1958 – 2022)
Molytva
CAMPUS PROJECT CHOIR
OLEKSIY SHAMRITSKY | CONDUCTOR

37:24 Mikhail Shukh (1952 – 2018)
Tykha molytva
CAMPUS PROJECT CHOIR
CAMPUS PROJECT ENSEMBLE
OLEKSIY SHAMRITSKY | CONDUCTOR

40:01 Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 3, Eroica
III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
arr. by Maxim Kolomiiets (*1981)
(world premiere)
CAMPUS PROJECT CHOIR
CAMPUS PROJECT ENSEMBLE
VITALI ALEKSEENOK | ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

51:05 Yevhen Petrychenko (*1976)
Lehenda pro kamjanu schinku
CAMPUS PROJECT CHOIR
OLEKSIY SHAMRITSKY | CONDUCTOR

54:02 Yevhen Stankovych (*1942)
Sadok vyshnevy
CAMPUS PROJECT CHOIR
OLEKSIY SHAMRITSKY | CONDUCTOR

57:06 Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 3, Eroica
II. Marcia funebre. Adagio assai
arr. by Johann N. Hummel (1778 – 1837)
CAMPUS PROJECT ENSEMBLE

1:12:47 Video: Free Choir, Belarus

1:14:49 Mikola Ravienski (1886 – 1953)
Mahutny Boža
FREE CHOIR
GALINA KASIMIROVSKAYA | CONDUCTOR

1:17:04 Mikalay Shchahlou-Kulikovich (1896 – 1969)
Pahonia
FREE CHOIR
GALINA KASIMIROVSKAYA | CONDUCTOR

1:20:46 Video: ‘The Sky of Mary’: A composition by Olga Podgaiskaya, dedicated to Maria Kolesnikova, Belarusian dissident

1:23:37 Olga Podgaiskaya (*1981)
The Sky of Mary
(world premiere; composition commissioned by Deutsche Welle)
FREE CHOIR
CAMPUS PROJECT ENSEMBLE
VITALI ALEKSEENOK | ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

1:31:46 Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 3, Eroica
IV. Finale. Allegro molto
arr. by Carl Friedrich Ebers (1770 – 1836)
CAMPUS PROJECT ENSEMBLE
VITALI ALEKSEENOK | ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

1:48:10 Encore:
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich
CAMPUS PROJECT CHOIR
CAMPUS PROJECT ENSEMBLE
FRANK-STEFFEN ELSTER | CONDUCTOR

The concert is a highlight for the Campus Project, a traditional collaboration between Deutsche Welle and the Beethovenfest Bonn. Conceived in 2001, the idea behind the Campus Project is to provide young musicians from all around the world with the opportunity to meet, share ideas, and play music together. In 2022 the focus lies on Eastern Europe, specifically Ukraine and Belarus. In the words of the project’s musical director, Vitali Alekseenok: “The purpose of this project is to build a musical bridge between the cultures of Belarus, my homeland, Ukraine, with which we all sympathize, and Germany.”

#ludwigvanbeethoven #vitalialekseenok #choirmusic