Tenso, a term from the Occitan troubadours’ tradition, means ‘dialogue between singers’ and is the name of the European chamber choir network: Tenso Network Europe. Tenso choirs are internationally active professional chamber choirs whose programming lays the emphasis on new and recent music. Tenso aims to exchange expertise and repertoire, encourage composition and performance of contemporary chamber choir music and promote collaboration with amateurs and young singers.

 

Every year Tenso organizes a festival in a European city. After successful Tenso Days in Paris, Berlin and Riga, the Nederlands Kamerkoor and Cappella Amsterdam will host this year’s event. They will receive colleagues from Latvia, France, Estonia and Norway in the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam.

 

The concerts present the most important pieces from the canon of XXth century chamber choir music, including the productions by Messiaen, Schnittke, Schönberg, Ligeti and Pärt.  The choirs will also pay homage to the seventeenth century Dutch composer Sweelinck by including a short psalm from his oeuvre in each of their concerts.

 

The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir under Daniel Reuss performs on October 17, in Muziekgebouw with the program of Sweelinck, Pärt and Kreegi and on October 18 at the Gala Concert.

 

More information: www.tensodagen.nl