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Aachener Dom Mädchenchor - cultural exchange

15/07/2019

In October this year, 70 girls from the Aachener Dom Mädchenchor directed by Herr Marco Fühner the Domkantor, will tour Sydney to perform in several concerts and church services.

The tour is a collaborative cultural exchange between the Mädchenchor and Mr Kurt Ison, a Sydney organist and composer.

By way of background, Mr Ison composed a Messe Basse setting for female voices and organ that was written for Karen Carey at MLC School Burwood, so that the school chamber choir could have a new mass to sing at Nôtre Dame Cathedral, Paris on their 2007 tour. The Messe Basse was later lengthened to become a Missa Brevis (with the addition of a newly composed Gloria) and was later published by J Butz Musikverlag at Bonn, Germany.

Subsequently, a number of German and Austrian choirs started to sing it and the Aachener Dom Mädchenchor, sang it several times during the Hochamt and at concerts.

In October 2015, Mr Ison was invited by Herr Marco Fühner, the Domkantor to visit Aachen to meet the choir and perform the mass in the Cathedral. During that visit, Herr Fühner commissioned him to compose a second mass setting for their use. On 1.9.19 Mr Ison will perform at Aachen Cathedral at the Hochamt alongside the choir for the world premiere of the new mass, as well as performing in a Cathedral concert and another solo concert on a recently installed new organ at St Clemens Bergisch Gladbach.

Then in October this year, The Cathedral Girls Choir from Aachen will visit Sydney on a short tour. A particular feature of the tour will be the co-premiere of the new mass at St James King street Sydney.

The highlights of the Cathedral Girls’ choir tour to Sydney are:

  • A combined concert at 7pm on Saturday 19/10/2019 at St James, King street, Sydney (alongside two other private girls schools choirs: PLC Pymble and SCEGGS Darlinghurst)
  • On Sunday 20/09/19 at the 11am Sung Eucharist, the Aachen choir will ‘re premiere’ the new mass in Australia.
  • They’ll sing for the 5pm Mass at Mary Immaculate Church, 45 Victoria street, Waverley on 20/10/2019
  • They’ll also perform for the German Catholic community at St Christophorus’s Croydon at lunchtime on 22/10/2019 and in a concert at St Finbar’s Glenbrook on the evening of 18/10/1029