Goethe Lounge | Ensemble Nobiles
20 Februrary, 2025, Goethe-Institut, Woollahra, NSW
It was a beautiful summer’s evening when we entered the Goethe Lounge at the Goethe-Institut in Woollahra. We were welcomed by the Institute Director, Christoph Mücher and Jochen Gutsch, Director of Cultural Programs, who told us that the award winning Ensemble Nobiles had only just arrived in Australia from Leipzig on Monday. In their youth, most of them sang in the famous Leipzig St. Thomas Boys Choir. They have performed as an ensemble since 2006, singing music ranging from the Renaissance to the present. Their repertoire includes madrigals, masses, folk music, popular 20th century music as well as contemporary church music. The reason for their presence in Australia was a major a cappella concert on Sunday – the world premiere of the Bonhoeffer Project.*
Ensemble Nobiles (Paul Heller countertenor, Marc-Eric Schmidt tenor, Benjamin Mahns-Mardy baritone, Lukas Lomtscher bass-baritone, Lucas Heller bass) strode onto the stage and immediately sang a joyful, humorous and mad madrigal by Orlando di Lasso: “Bon Jour” to welcome one and all. Paul Heller explained what was in store for us: the performance will comprise of brackets beginning, in most cases, with a Renaissance madrigal, followed by two German folk songs. Later, they would include some more popular American works from the 1920s and ’30s. Each segment was introduced by a different member of the group. We were invited to sing along with any songs we recognised. Fortunately nobody did!
The good humour, friendship and rapport between the singers was evident throughout the concert. Their accuracy in pitch and timing was matched by their diction, facial expression and acting to make each song a unique experience.
Quirky songs such as Max Reger’s “Das Lieben bringt uns Freude” (making love brings us joy) was performed with much eyebrow-raising and innuendo.
They performed another Orlando di Lasso madrigal, “Bon Jour mon Coeur”, a slightly darker love song. Their rendition of this and other madrigals, such as Philippe Verdelot’s “Con soave parlar” was more formal and extremely precise.
Highlights for me included Friedrich Silcher’s arrangement of Schubert’s “Der Lindenbaum” from his song cycle “Die Winterreise”. This song has been absorbed into the German psyche as a Folksong and was performed with great emotion enhancing the intricate harmonies.
Another song I recognised was “Das zerbrochene Ringlein” (The broken Ring), also arranged by Silcher. It is known as “The Mill Wheel” in English. Ensemble Nobiles performed this with delicate, harmonious emotion.
The Ensemble added a slightly jazzy feel with sounds like bells (“ding, ding”) to Pohlers’ “Die Gedanken sind frei” (Our Thoughts are free). There was great variety in the different verses, expressing the nuances of “free thoughts”, ending with some nonchalant whistling.
Each song they presented was a complete theatrical experience, sometimes witty, sometimes impassioned. Always entertaining!
They finished their last bracket with American songs from the 1920s and ’30s – “Blue Skies” by Irving Berlin and “Pennies from Heaven” by Arthur Johnston. These were presented in an upbeat manner with jazzy sound effects and rhythms and a lot of hammed up acting. They were so much fun and so popular, that an encore was inevitable. They gave the audience a brilliant rendition of “What a Wonderful World”, ending the concert in a truly positive note.
They invited the audience to chat with them afterwards, which we did. This was one of the advantages of the intimacy of the Goethe Lounge. They talked enthusiastically about the Bonhoeffer Project*, which will be (was) performed as a World Premiere on Sunday 23rd February. They praised the great acoustics of the venue, which complemented their great voices. Their great style, great rapport, great sense of humour and great performance all round made it great experience. It was a pleasure and privilege to meet and to hear them.
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* The Bonhoeffer Project is a Mass to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s death. This clergyman and theologian was executed in 1945 for his resistance to National Socialism. Ensemble Nobiles commissioned five composers from around the globe to set some of his prayers to music for a cappella choir and Ensemble Nobiles. This was unified with a Latin Mass, composed by Paul Heller, one of its members.
Sketches: Heidi Hereth
