New CD: Louis Durey: „Mélodies“ now released 

On June 6, the CD „Louis Durey: Mélodies“ was released as the conclusion of the 10-CD series dedicated to the composers of the Groupe des Six.

He was the outsider of the “Groupe des Six”: Despite an extensive oeuvre and important advocates, Louis Durey is only known to insiders today. Holger Falk and Steffen Schleiermacher dedicate this CD to this eccentric, whose work calls into question many certainties about the music surrounding Cocteau.

Unlike his colleagues, Durey was quite critical of Cocteau’s austerity; he did not share the general disdain for everything “romantic”. And so the lyricists for his songs include not only the usual suspects, but also Rilke and Heine – and indeed Ho Chi Minh!

Durey was also an avowed communist and revolutionary who was involved in the Resistance and wanted to write music for the common people. Did he achieve this with his extremely artistic songs? In any case, his “Vergers” on original texts by Rilke reveal an expressive harmonic richness that comes close to Schoenberg and Messiaen – a far cry from Cocteau’s ideal of a simple tonal language.

This is probably because Durey is so often overlooked when it comes to the “Groupe des Six”. And yet the picture would be incomplete; it is all the more commendable that Falk and Schleiermacher show the entire spectrum of an era in their multi-award-winning series. Here it is, the long overdue rehabilitation of an unjustly forgotten artist.

“Amopera” with Needcompany and Klangforum in Hong Kong, South Korea and Vienna
From March 19, Holger Falk will be touring Asia with “Amopera – a dystopian ballad”.
The performative meta-opera with works by Luciano Berio, Alban Berg, Harrison Birtwistle, Benjamin Britten, Peter Maxwell Davies, Beat Furrer, Sara Glojnarić, Bernhard Lang, Rebecca Saunders, Salvatore Sciarrino, Michael Wertmüller, Iannis Xenakis and Alexander von Zemlinsky will be performed in Hong Kong on March 19 and in Daegu (South Korea) on March 22 and 23.

Performers: Klangforum Wien, Tim Anderson (conductor), Needcompany, Jan Lauwers (director), Paul Blackmann (performer), Holger Falk (baritone), Maarten Seghers (performer), Sarah Maria Sun (soprano), Grace Tjang (performer)

On May 11, “Amopera” will be performed with the same cast at the Wiener Konzerthaus.

Photo (c) Valerie Maltseva

Holger Falk’s current CD “Georges Auric: Mélodies et Chansons” is on the longlist for the German Record Critics‘ Award.

Schubert and Eisler at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.
On February 5, Holger sang a recital at the venerable Library of Congress in Washington D.C. together with Steffen Schleiermacher. The program consisted of selected songs by Hanns Eisler and Franz Schubert. The Coolidge Auditorium was transformed into a salon for an evening of political and socially critical songs that have probably never before been heard at the center of American democracy.
In spring 2025, the Library of Congress will celebrate 100 years of concerts in the library.

Il gondoliere veneziano in Florida, New York City and Connecticut
Together with the ensemble nuovo aspetto, Holger Falk performed the program “Il gondoliere veneziano” three times in the USA in February:
On February 7 in Jacksonville/Florida, on February 9 as part of the Corpus Christi Church-Ancient music festival “music before 1800” in New York City and on February 11 in the auditorium of the University of Connecticut – where Holger Falk also gave a master class for students on February 10.