The Allegro Barbaro Chamber Choir held a one day choir camp on 24th September 2016 – the choir dates its creation from this day. The choir was created for a complex international project as a result of cooperating with French composer, Anthony Chudeau. Firstly, to present the piece that Anthony had composed for the conductor’s diploma concert (L’affaire se complique), secondly, to take part in the XXXIII. National Science Students’ Conference with another Chudeau piece, composed for the choir and soloist Adrienn Tóth’s voice, specificly for this competition, called Dé-(s)-Ordres, and finally to give a concert in France dedicated to Anthony’s choir pieces in june, 2017.
However, the original goals were further expanded: we were invited to present the musical illustrations of a project (Adrián Bohner: Emlékezés egy nyár-éjszakára) the special feature of which is the composition of a new composition technique, in the prestigious national competition (XXXIII. OTDK). In addition, our love and enthusiasm for contemporary choral music, led to our aim of presenting several young composers’ works not only in Hungary but also in our two concerts in France – and we will continue to do so.
Our first musical season (2016/2017) ended with the following results:
We participated in two competitions at the XXXIII. National Science Students’ Conference where we received a special award for the performance of two very difficult contemporary pieces. We successfully took part in our conductor’s Master’s Degree Concert at the ELTE BTK Music Department. We had two concerts of our own: Musica Sacra with Allegro Barbaro (Pécs), Dé-(s)-Ordres in other words Order in Chaos (Budapest). It was an honour to be invited to: Contemporary Music at the Trefort Garden, the final concert of the I. Art Pedagogical Conference (concert with the participation of Márton Szikora’s clarinet quartet). In France we gave another two very successful concerts, presenting eight world premiers (Adrián Bohner, Anthony Chuedau, Ilona Dobszay-Meskó, Benedek Hetei-Bakó, János Juhász, Román Medenczi) and one Hungarian premier (Nana Tchikhinashvili), as well as holding two concerts dedicated to the works of Anthony Chudeau.
As a result of the emphasis on contemporary music, the choir came to consist of not only vocalists and instrumental soloists but also a circle of composers. This results in a diverse range of activities. Firstly, we actively cooperate with the composers we know personally, so their pieces often change during rehearsal through continuous consultation and discussion. Secondly, the conductors who collaborating as vocalists in the choir have the opportunity to teach as well as lead the choir in concert. Thirdly, it has become our aim to provide opportunities for members of our choir to introduce themselves as soloists. Fourthly, during our rehearsals, chamber music in the truest sense of the word is created through professional respect for each other, because all our singers are trained musicians or musicians in training, and everyone wants to give their best, both individually and collectively.
