The Song of the Earth, be part of our vision!

FESCH.TV INFORMIERT:

Over the course of time, Musique des Lumières has become an uncommon player in Swiss cultural landscape. Its approach of the repertoire is rather „transversal“: its concert programmes often combine early repertoire with romantic works, and particular attention is devoted to contemporary music and chamber opera. Inspired by its Artistic Director, the ensemble reached a high level of proficiency performing on both modern and period instruments.

Right at the beginning of the pandemic, Musique des Lumières was launching a large project on Gustav Mahler’s thrillingsong cycle «Song of the Earth», in the chamber-orchestra version by Arnold Schönberg. Due to sanitary restrictions, many of the scheduled performances had to be cancelled, and a major sponsor had to withdrew from the project. But despite these difficulties, Musique des Lumières remained confident and brought the program to its final step: the making of a new CD-production of the highest technical level, featuring two young soloists of great talent: mezzo-soprano Dilara Bastar and tenor Rolf Romei.
In cooperation with our Spanish label Ibs Classical (Granada), the recording sessions took place in October 2021, in the great acoustics of Espace La-Velle, in Le Noirmont, Switzerland. All the material was recorded, two video-crews took part in the process and produced photo and video materials of great quality. These materials are currently being finalized and will accompany the promotion of the new album, scheduled for December 2022.
Today, perhaps more than ever, the Song of the Earth appears as the „music of the time“, as it conveys a powerful message of hope, beauty and love of nature : « The dear earth everywhere blooms in spring and grows green afresh! Everywhere and eternally, distant places grow blue and bright! »
Musique des Lumières is a non-subsidized professional orchestra. We sailed bravely through the pandemic, and didn’t lose any of our musicians. We kept together and managed to find ways to work through the many challenges. At the moment, our organization is struggling a little. At the start of this „new beginning“, we must call for some financial support.

Today, we are seeking for financial help to cover final expenses for a total of 8’650 $, related to:
in-studio mix and final mastering (2’400 $)
graphic design and photography rights (1’500 $)
booklet edition (including new translations of the original German text into French, Spanish, English) (900 $)
initial marketing and press fees (2’400 $)
social media advertising campaigns (750 $)
travel costs (700 $)
performing/recording rights, Universal Edition (2’350 $)

Every amount will help us reach our goal: finalise the recording production and share our interpretation of this admirable work with audiences of all ages, throughout the world.
Through our sound, we would be glad to share with you the „Musique des Lumières experience“—and perhaps to meet you in person, at one of our performances! As of today, we are happy to invite you to build a community around our beautiful Song of the Earth.

The Musique des Lumières board thanks You for your kind attention and looks forward to hearing from you!

Biel-Bienne, Switzerland, 8 September 2022
musiquedeslumieres.com