Intense sensory experience

Men's choirs may evoke in you a somewhat frozen, old-fashioned image of vocal music. Dressed in old-fashioned three-piece suits, these gentlemen will speak to your tender soul of the beauties of the fatherland, the benefits of wine or of maidens evoking a distant past. If this is what you're talking about, you've probably missed a train, as the vast majority of male choruses are now far from the Steffisburg Männerchor maliciously mocked by Gilles. If, however, you persist in your opinions, this recording will undoubtedly change your mind.

Few choirs are as recognizable as the Männerstimmen Basel. Wearing knickerbockers and suspenders, their appearance immediately sets them apart. A far cry from the three-piece suit mentioned earlier. That's the bottle. But the intoxication comes from the sound of these young singers (most of them under 35) and the energy they bring to a repertoire rich in discoveries.

Pieces by Ivo Antognini, Hans Huber, Carl Rütti, Albert Jenny, Paul Schaller and Darius Milhaud, among others, take us off the beaten track, and that's good. For dessert, the only work in the traditional repertoire of male choirs in Western Switzerland: Jura land by Paul Miche!

Like the magnificent cover photo, these compositions take us to icy landscapes. The flame emanating from the Männerstimmen Basel, animated by Oliver Rudin's breath, warms our hearts. A common thread: the Madeleine flood in Basel in 1480. The Männerstimmen exude incredible energy, both in their power and in their infinite sweetness. Vocal projection is crisp, with a desire for clarity and a total absence of vibrato. The result is harmonic purity that never fails.

The metaphor of icy landscapes combined with the warmth of the performance creates an intense, contrasting sensory experience, evoking a range of emotions, from coldness and loneliness to warmth and emotional connection. A disc to listen to on these foggy days!

Diluvium. Männerstimmen Basel, Leitung Oliver Rudin, David Rossel. maennerstimmen.ch