Lorelei Ensemble (VS) – LOOK UP
Location: De SCHUUR – Haarlem
“Impeccable musicality, and pure-voiced precision” Boston Globe
The international highlight of this year’s Big Sing, the European debut of the Lorelei Ensemble from Boston. Lorelei was founded over 20 years ago by conductor Beth Willer. Under her visionary leadership this outstanding ensemble of female voices has blazed its way to the top of the American choral scene.
Lorelei now enjoys a national reputation for its commitment to new work and repertoire, frequently collaborating with established and emerging composers and with the USA’s leading symphony orchestras. Willer: “we create living repertoire for a living audience.” As if proof were needed, their Big Sing programme features the extraordinary Beaufort Scales, a new oratorio for 8 voices and electronics by Christopher Cerrone in which Beaufort’s 12 poetic stages of wind measurement – from placidity to calamity – unfold in sound and image.
Beaufort’s original scale, comprising 12 steps in 200 words, is the framework for an exploration of changing weather phenomenon in our modern era. Cerrone interweaves texts from authors throughout history – Melville, Teju Cole, Anne Carson – to create a kaleidoscopic view of weather. This all leads to an inexorable climax: “The air is filled with foam and spray / Devastation.” Filmmaker Hannah Wasileski complements the aural beauty of Cerrone’s music with her video montage. A piece of, and for, our time, a reflection but also cautionary tale in the era of climate change. Lorelei also sings a cappella works by Meredith Monk, Molly Herron and Elijah Daniel Smith.
Lorelei’s recent recording of Beaufort Scales was nominated for a 2025 Grammy Award.
In true Big Sing tradition, we present the European debut of yet another outstanding international ensemble, and with an irresistible programme of European premieres!
Meredith Monk: Other Worlds Revealed, Earth, Seen from Above *
Molly Herron: Stellar Atmospheres *
Elijah Daniel Smith: Suspended in Spin *
Christopher Cerrone: Beaufort Scales *
* European premiere
Watch the video below for an impression of what to expect.
You can see more about this performance in this trailer.
