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St. Olaf Choir inspires ovation after standing ovation during first southern Europe tour in 30 years

kla
August 2, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? Standing ovations for performers are rare in southern Europe, where the St. Olaf Choir toured for 19 days this summer. But inspiring concerts and the choir?s first visit to the region in 30 years prompted unusual ovations in nearly every one of the 14 tour cities.

"The choir sang stunningly," St. Olaf Choir Conductor Anton Armstrong said. "As the tour went on, our receptions grew. Our audiences responded with wide acclamation, as if to say ?We don?t want to wait another 30 years for the choir to return.?"

The result was a "very successful" tour of the five European nations, Armstrong said. Choir concerts in Austria were especially well-attended, and in Berlin, where the choir has had little exposure, the performance was a "huge success," drawing a large audience.

"The St. Olaf Choir made a strong impression in the music centers of Europe," Armstrong concluded.

The choir left for France May 28 and returned from Germany June 17. The St. Olaf Choir last performed in southern Europe in 1972, when it was conducted by Kenneth Jennings.

The tour took the St. Olaf Choir to France, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany. The renowned ensemble performed in Paris, Chartres, the Sorbonne and Auvers-sur-Oise, France; in Salzburg, Linz, Vienna, Hollabrunn and Rosenburg, Austria; in Bratislava, Slovakia; in Prague, the Czech Republic; and in Berlin, Leipzig and Eisenach, Germany.

The 75-voice choir, from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., performed a wide variety of music for the European audiences, including "Jauchzet dem Herrn alle Welt" by Johann Sebastian Bach, "Sing Ye Praises" by Aaron Copland, "Water Night" by Eric Whitacre and a selection of spirituals featuring Moses Hogan?s "My Soul?s Been Anchored in the Lord."

"This tour was almost like breaking new ground, despite Kenneth Jennings? excellent work when the choir last toured those countries," Armstrong said. "We performed for many southern European audiences who were not familiar with the St. Olaf Choir."

The opening concert in Chartres Cathedral, France, was "stunning," Armstrong said. And at another French venue ? Auvers-Sur-Oise, where Vincent Van Gogh spent much of his life ? the ensemble enjoyed a wonderful reception.

"The choir sang in a small, stone church to a group of astute listeners who grasped the full dimensions of the artistry," Armstrong said. "It was clear that the audience came not just to be entertained, but to feel uplifted." Van Gogh is buried in the yard of the church.

Armstrong?s favorite European venue was the University Church in Salzburg, Austria. The audience there was "wonderful," he said, and the historical setting ? the city where Mozart and Haydn often worked ? is awe-inspiring.

And his favorite performance was in the Marble Hall of Austria?s Castle Rosenburg, where the St. Olaf Choir sang by candlelight to an intimate audience of fewer than 200. "The experience was very lovely," Armstrong noted.

One tour stop ? Bratislava, Slovakia ? is home to St. Olaf Choir member and St. Olaf senior Ivana Sabansova. "It was a wonderful opportunity for Ivana to share her American experience with her family and friends in Bratislava," Armstrong said.

In Prague, Czech Republic, the U.S. embassy hosted a reception for the choir. And in Berlin, Germany, the choir sang in the French Cathedral, an acoustically appealing church built in the Calvinistic-Huguenot tradition.

The final two concerts took the choir to cities rich in Lutheran and music history: Leipzig and Eisenach, Germany. The choir?s founder, F. Melius Christiansen, studied in Leipzig, and the Leipzig community and the music of Bach were early forces that shaped the choir?s repertoire.

Eisenach, Germany, is significant for the choir and the college because Bach was baptized in St. George?s Church, and because nearby is Wartburg Castle, where Martin Luther translated the New Testament from Greek into German. "Eisenach has deep ties musically to the history of the St. Olaf Choir, and to St. Olaf as a college of the church," Armstrong noted.

Not only was the St. Olaf Choir?s European tour artistically rewarding, but it was socially meaningful, Armstrong said. Many concerts were performed in the name of important social causes: for children seeking asylum in Austria; for Sonnendach, a handicapped children?s house; for children with cancer. "The choir worked directly to help others through our music, as a form of ministry and outreach," Armstrong said.

St. Olaf President Christopher Thomforde and his wife, Christine, traveled with the choir during the tour?s final 10 days, and a number of St. Olaf alumni, alumnae and friends living in the United States and Europe joined the audiences in various cities to hear the choir. Armstrong also cited the skill and hard work of St. Olaf Music Organizations Manager B.J. "Bob" Johnson, who manages the St. Olaf Choir, as a primary reason for the tour?s success.

After the tour about half of the choir members stayed in Europe to enjoy more sightseeing.

The St. Olaf Choir has inspired and entertained thousands of audiences, first under the direction of F. Melius Christiansen, then under his son Olaf C. Christiansen, then under Kenneth Jennings (who led the ensemble from 1968 to 1990), and now under Armstrong. Armstrong, who is Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal professor of music at St. Olaf College, has been conductor of the St. Olaf Choir since 1990.

The St. Olaf Choir has toured annually since 1912, when it was founded by Christiansen. A 1920 tour to major music centers of the East Coast sowed the seeds of the ensemble?s national reputation, establishing its a cappella style of singing as a primary element in American choral music.

Since then 12 tours to Europe, Asia and Australia have produced international acclaim for the ensemble. In 1988 the group was one of five choirs in the world invited to participate in the Seoul Olympic Arts Festival in South Korea. In 1993 the ensemble completed a 21-day concert tour of Norway and Denmark that included appearances at the Bergen International Festival. A 1997 tour to New Zealand and Australia marked the ensemble?s first tour "down under."

St. Olaf College prepares students to become responsible citizens of the world, fostering development of mind, body and spirit. A four-year, coeducational liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), St. Olaf has a student enrollment of 2,950 and a full-time faculty complement of approximately 300. It is one of Money Guide?s top 100 "elite values in college education today," and it leads the nation?s colleges in percentage of students who study abroad.

Contact Michael Cooper at 507-786-3315 or cooperm@stolaf.edu.