International Masters Series I: Yun-Hung Chen and Taipei Chamber Singers

Taipei Chamber Singers launches its International Masters Series,

inviting former Artistic Director and conductor Yun-Hung Chen

to open the series with a landmark programme!

The programme moves through eras and styles that meet and answer one another, interweaving serene, cool stillness with warmth and fervour. The first half pairs the Renaissance polyphony of Tomás Luis de Victoria with the minimalist sacred music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, whose pure a cappella hymns to the Lord of the universe bring comfort and calm to hearts in the post-pandemic era. The second half presents “Sailors’ Hymn: Mare Liberum Wawa” (水手海洋之歌), a commissioned work on the theme of the sea by Europe-based Taiwanese composer Li-Ying Wu, which speaks of the wanderer’s longing for home, followed by Johann Sebastian Bach’s motet Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227, as a prayer for the world.

Over many years, conductor Yun-Hung Chen led Taipei Chamber Singers to numerous awards, including first prize in the Chamber Choir Category and the Grand Prix at the Béla Bartók International Choir Competition in Hungary in 2006. YIN—An Unlimited Passage, the album recorded with Taipei Chamber Singers in 2021, set a record at the Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music, winning four awards: Best Performance, Best Album Producer, Best Recording, and Best Composition. This time Yun-Hung Chen returns as guest conductor in what promises to be a memorable concert.

Performance Information

Tue, 25 April 2023, 19:30, National Concert Hall, Taipei

Sun, 30 April 2023, 14:30, Concert Hall, National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying), Kaohsiung

Performers

Conductor: Yun-Hung Chen

Choir: Taipei Chamber Singers

Organ: 阮秀慈

Cello: 許書閑

Programme

Arvo Pärt:

Magnificat, Morning Star, Most Holy Mother of God, O Holy Father Nicholas

Tomás Luis de Victoria:

O Magnum Mysterium, O Vos Omnes, Salve Regina

Li-Ying Wu:

Sailors’ Hymn: Mare Liberum Wawa (commissioned work, world premiere)

Johann Sebastian Bach:

Jesu, meine Freude (BWV 227)

Tickets

Taipei: NT$400/600/900/1200/1500/2500

Kaohsiung: NT$300/500/800/1200/2500

Tickets: OPENTIX (https://www.opentix.life/event/1631190452021538821)

[Presented by] Taipei Chamber Singers

[Co-organized by] Taipei Chamber Singers Arts and Culture Association, 微光古樂集

[Supervised by] Bureau of Cultural Affairs, Kaohsiung City Government

[Sponsors] National Culture and Arts Foundation, Danish Arts Foundation, Koda Kultur

[Sponsorship partners] La Roche-Posay, Mao Bao

[Official hotels] The Howard Plaza Hotel Taipei, The Howard Plaza Hotel Kaohsiung

[Promotion partners] MUSICO, Eslite​