Link to the event: https://www.kamerkooramphion.nl/

‘The flowers and the trees, The bronzes, the marbles, The golds, the enamels, The sea, the fountains, The mountains and plains Console our pain. Eternal nature, You seem more beautiful To a heart in sorrow.

The Romantics knew better than anyone how to appreciate the blessings of nature. For example, Victor Hugo sang about her healing and comforting effect in the above verses. Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) turned these into a compelling setting for four-part choir a cappella. We will sing this on Saturday 10 June during our spring concert in the Oranjekerk in Amsterdam under the title Nature éternelle.

As you have come to expect from us, we searched for matching songs from all style periods around the same theme. For example, deafening birdsong can be heard in Le chant des Oyseaux by Clément Janequin (1485-1558); a swan in her song of death gives a final sneer at the stupid geese in The Silver Swan by Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625), and Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) praises the grace of a doe in La biche.

The British John Tavener (1944-2013) chose verses by William Blake for his ode to the Lamb of God in The Lamb; his American colleague Morten Lauridsen (1943) was inspired by the perfection of a rose in La rose complète, while insects and sheep breathe life into Edward Elgar's (1857-1934) Evening Scene.

Iryna Aleksiychuk (1967), who fled from Ukraine to Spain last year, made a beautiful setting of verses about the passage of time from her compatriot Lesya Ukrainka in Pisnja (‘Song’), and organist/composer Waldemar Åhlén wrote Sommerpsalm, one of the most popular choral songs from Sweden.

In short, together with conductor Tijmen van Tol we have again devised a varied programme and we hope that you will enjoy the concert as much as we enjoy the rehearsals.

Saturday 10 June, Oranjekerk Amsterdam, 4 p.m. Nature éternelle

Admission €15.00 / with a discount €12.00

Reservations: amphion@online.nl