NDR Chor / Phillip Ahmann

The Argentine-German composer Mauricio Kagel was one of the most original figures in the world of contemporary music. He saw music not simply as a sequence of notes, but as a drama expressed in music; but this didn’t stop him poking gleeful fun at all the fuss that the music scene sometimes makes about itself. Thus the very first-ever edition of »Greatest Hits« opened with his piece for a group of singing cyclists! Kagel’s great admiration for old masters like Johann Sebastian Bach is evident in clever adaptations, e.g. in his »Chorbuch«, where Bach chorales are defamiliarised in surreal fashion using new harmonies and various vocal effects. Philipp Ahmann, conductor of the NDR Chor, has prepared an intelligent programme that juxtaposes the Bach originals with Kagel’s versions. The high point of the concert is the composition »Burleske«, set for the odd combination of baritone saxophone and choir.