Choir concert Flemish Radio Choir conducted by Bart Van Reyn L'heure exquise piano Koenraad Sterckx

A selection of frail French chansons takes you to the dreamy world of the fin de siècle, where it is wonderful to linger among vocal miniatures by famous names such as Debussy, Fauré and Ravel - and the refinement of the lesser-known Reynaldo Hahn, who provides a surprising note. Rêvons, c'est l'heure! When night falls on a warm late summer day, the veiled shrouds of twilight provide an intimate concert in which poetry and music merge. The medieval texts of Charles d’Orléans inspired Claude Debussy, while Maurice Ravel himself took up the pen for Trois Chansons - his only a cappella work. He himself found the second part, Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis, “une exquise ballade toute pleine de tendresse”. With the choice for the oeuvre of Paul Verlaine as the basis for his song cycle Chansons grises, Reynaldo Hahn crowned himself the undisputed master of the French melody - and the Parisian salons of the Belle Époque. Fauré closes for the night, with the dramatic power of Les Djinns on a poem by Victor Hugo. Program: (60’ - without intermission) Claude Debussy, Trois Chansons de Charles d’Orléans, L.99: Quant j’ai ouy le tabourin (1908) Reynaldo Hahn, Chansons grises: V. L’heure exquise (1890) Camille Saint-Saëns Saltarelle, op.74 (1885) Maurice Ravel, Trois Chansons, M 69: Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis (1915) Ernest Chausson, Poème de l’amour et de la mer, op. 19: IV. Le Temps des lilas (1892) Gabriel Fauré, Madrigal, op. 35 (1883) Erik Satie, Gymnopédie No. 1 (1888) Reynaldo Hahn, À Chloris (1913) Claude Debussy, 3 chansons de Charles d’Orléans: No. 1, Dieu! Qu’il la fait bon regarder! (1908) Reynaldo Hahn, Chansons grises: I. Chanson d’automne (1893) Gabriel Fauré, Les Djinns, Op. 12 (1875) Componisten Ernest Chausson (1855 – 1899) Claude Debussy (1862 – 1918) Gabriel Fauré (1845 – 1924) Reynaldo Hahn (1874 – 1947) Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937) Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 – 1921) Erik Satie (1866 – 1925) Achtergrondinfo Meer info can be found on the website of the Vlaams Radiokoor. Vlaams Radiokoor Het Vlaams Radiokoor was founded in 1937 as a professional chamber choir by the then public broadcaster. Today the choir is a reference for vocal music in Flanders and Europe, and is counted among the top both at home and abroad. The 32 singers rehearse under the direction of music director Bart Van Reyn in Studio 1 of the famous Flagey building in Brussels. The shared passion for contemporary repertoire, the belief in the voice as the ultimate interpreter of our emotions, and the striving to make our vocal heritage accessible to singers and audience are what connect ensemble and conductor. Het Vlaams Radiokoor is an institution of the Vlaamse Gemeenschap. Bart Van Reyn Bart Van Reyn is the music director of the Vlaams Radiokoor. His dynamic approach, thorough knowledge of the repertoire and great passion for the craft fit perfectly with the DNA of the Radio Choir. Together they honor the rich vocal past and they keep it alive by working today on the history of tomorrow: as a radar for new musical and social trends, as a keeper and guardian of our vocal heritage. Bart Van Reyn feels at home in a broad repertoire: from baroque to contemporary, and both in oratorio, opera, orchestral songs as well as in a cappella music – with the voice as the common thread. Between 2016 and 2022, Bart was chief conductor of the Deens Radio Koor, and since 2022 he has been the permanent guest conductor of Anima Eterna. In addition, Bart is regularly asked for productions with internationally renowned choirs such as the Nederlands Kamerkoor, Cappella Amsterdam, Groot Omroepkoor, Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Collegium Vocale Gent, The Purcell Choir, MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig, SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, NDR Chor Hamburg, Rundfunkchor Berlin, DR Vokalensemblet, and the BBC Singers. Bart is also founder and inspirer of Octopus, a flexible choir of 24 to 80 semi-professional and professional singers, and of Le Concert d’Anvers, a period orchestra that focuses on repertoire from the 18th and early 19th century. Out of a love for opera, Bart, together with director Korneel Hamers, founded the traveling opera company The Ministry of Operatic Affairs, known for the productions Don Giovanni, Orfeo ed Euridice, Così fan tutte, Dido & Aeneas, and Acis & Galatea. Besides his many and varied vocal projects, Van Reyn is also a welcome guest with large and small instrumental ensembles from home and abroad, including Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, B’Rock, Casco Phil, Il Gardellino, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Brandenburger Symphoniker, Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Nederlands Kamerorkest and the Deens Nationaal Symfonieorkest. His great passion and knowledge finally make Bart the ideal partner for contemporary composers: among others Steve Reich, Tan Dun, James MacMillan and Kaija Saariaho worked with him. In 2022, Bart's first oratorio recording Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu by C.P.E. Bach with the Vlaams Radiokoor and Il Gardellino Orchestra (Passacaille Records) was awarded a Diapason d'Or. This distinction underlines his deep connection with vocal music dedication to creating excellent recordings. Koenraad Sterckx, piano Koenraad Sterckx studied piano with Boyan Vodenitcharov and music writing at the Koninklijk Conservatorium van Brussel. He performs as a soloist, as a chamber musician and as an accompanist of, among others, the Vlaams Radiokoor. Besides his activities as a pianist, he was connected to the Koninklijk Conservatorium van Brussel as an artistic researcher from 2012 to 2022 and was able to complete projects around the compositions of Victor Legley, Eugène Ysaÿe and Alexander Stadtfeld, among others. Since 2019, he has also been working at the same institute as an accompanist, this academic year for the viola, orchestral conducting and piccolo classes.