Composition Commission issued to Ansgar Beste

Ensemble <belcanto> Dietburg Spohr, Kelkheim, Germany

The German-Swedish composer Ansgar Beste is concerned with combining old music and new works. Commissioned by the vocal ensemble <belcanto>, a special ensemble for contemporary music, he is composing “Arc-en-ciel”. The work aims to reflect the rainbow as an optical natural phenomenon and establish a symbiosis between classical avant-garde harmony, pop rhythm and Gregorian chants in the spirit of Hildegard von Bingen. The composition will be performed in dialog with excerpts from Hildegard’s “Ordo virtutum” in churches in Frankfurt am Main, Vienna, Cologne, Schwerin and Oslo.
Born in 1981 in Malmö Ansgar Beste studied composition, piano, music theory and culture management and has already received numerous prizes. The composition supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation aims to establish contemporary music more strongly within the ecclesiastic sphere.

September 27, 2015
KLANGforum, Frankfurt am Main

October 18, 2015
St. Ruprecht, Vienna

November 22, 2015
Gamle Aker Kirke, Oslo

April 10,2016
St. Paulskirche, Schwerin

May 22, 2016
Kunststation St. Peter, Cologne

Further Information:
www.belcanto-spohr.de