Ulrich Cordes
Encyclopedia
Ulrich Cordes is a German tenor
.
(A-Exam in 2003) with Winfried Bönig
and Margaretha Hürholz, among others. He continued studying voice. In 2005 he was able to study at the CNSMDP in Paris with Pierre Mervant as a Socrates Fellow. From 2005/06 he studied in Cologne with Christoph Prégardien
. After his diploma in 2008 he took part in Prégardien's "voice studio", finishing with Konzertexamen (concert exam) in 2010. He took masterclasses with Claudia Visca and Konrad Jarnot
. Since 2008 he has continued working with Jarnot. He was awarded a second prize in the competition "Podium Junger Gesangssolisten" of the association of German concert choirs (VDKC) in 2008.
Cordes performed with De Nederlandse Bachvereniging
and the Münchener Bach-Chor
, among others. On 10 October 2004 he sang the tenor part of Beethoven's Mass in C major
in the Bonn Minster
as part of the Beethovenfest. In 2007 he sang the part of Apollon in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo in a concert of the Rheingau Musik Festival
. With the Johanneskantorei Düsseldorf he performed in 2008 Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man
and in 2009 Mendelssohn's Paulus. In 2008 his interpretation of the Evangelist
in Bach's St John Passion in Cologne was termed "excellent, a factual witness showing empathy at times". He also performed the "great arias" in the two performances. In 2008 he sang the part of Uriel in several performances of Haydn's Die Schöpfung
, in three churches of Berlin, in Bonn and in the Nicolaikirche, Dortmund. In 2009 he was the Evangelist in Bach's St Matthew Passion in St. Martin, Idstein
, with Andreas Pruys
(Vox Christi
), Katia Plaschka
, Anne Bierwirth and Klaus Mertens
. He performed several parts in Handel's Saul
, the title role sung by Konrad Jarnot, with the Münchener Bach-Chor, conducted by Hansjörg Albrecht. He was the tenor soloist in Voices of Exile, Richard Blackford
's cantata
for soloists, chamber orchestra, tape and choir, performed by the chamber choirs CONSONO (de) and CONSTANT, conducted by Harald Jers, at the music festival "Klangvocal" (vocal sound) in Dortmund
. In 2010 he performed at the Staatsoper Stuttgart
in the German premiere of Elena Kats-Chernin
opera The Rage of Life. His opera roles include Mozart's Don Ottavio
and Belmonte
. With the Münchener Bach-Chor he performed a program around Mozart's Requiem
, including compositions of Enjott Schneider
, in the Philharmonie at the Gasteig
, stepping in for Thomas Michael Allen. He was the Evangelist in the St Matthew Passion in the Berliner Philharmonie
on 28 March 2010. In 2011 he appeared in the Kölner Philharmonie in Handel's Israel in Egypt with the Bach-Verein Köln (de). He sang in Bach's Mass in B minor, performed in the Johanneskirche Düsseldorf and Trinitatiskirche Cologne to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the chamber choir CONSONO. He performed the tenor part of Handel's Messiah in St. Martin, Idstein
, with Katia Plaschka
, Andreas Scholl
and Markus Flaig
.
's Christmas oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra Das größte Kind (The greatest child), conducted by Michael Willens, with the soloists also forming the choir.
In 2011 he was the Evangelist in a DVD of Bach's St Matthew Passion, recorded live at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
, with Graeme Danby
(Vox Christi), conducted by Bart Van Reyn.
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
.
Professional career
Ulrich Cordes first studied sacred music at the Hochschule für Musik KölnHochschule für Musik Köln
The Cologne University of Music is a music college in Cologne, and Germany's largest academy of music.-History:The academy was founded by Ferdinand Hiller in 1850 as Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln...
(A-Exam in 2003) with Winfried Bönig
Winfried Bönig
Winfried Bönig is a German organist.Bönig studied organ and church music at the Musikhochschule München with Franz Lehrndorfer from 1978 to 1984. He passed his A exam in 1982 with distinction. Afterwards he studied musicology in Augsburg . Between 1984 and 1998 he was organist of St. Josef in...
and Margaretha Hürholz, among others. He continued studying voice. In 2005 he was able to study at the CNSMDP in Paris with Pierre Mervant as a Socrates Fellow. From 2005/06 he studied in Cologne with Christoph Prégardien
Christoph Prégardien
Christoph Prégardien is a German lyric tenor whose career is closely associated with the roles in Mozart operas, as well as performances of Lieder, oratorio roles, and Baroque music...
. After his diploma in 2008 he took part in Prégardien's "voice studio", finishing with Konzertexamen (concert exam) in 2010. He took masterclasses with Claudia Visca and Konrad Jarnot
Konrad Jarnot
Konrad Jarnot is an English baritone who works in opera and oratorio and is a notable performer of Lieder. He is a teacher at the Robert Schumann Hochschule.-Early life:...
. Since 2008 he has continued working with Jarnot. He was awarded a second prize in the competition "Podium Junger Gesangssolisten" of the association of German concert choirs (VDKC) in 2008.
Cordes performed with De Nederlandse Bachvereniging
De Nederlandse Bachvereniging
De Nederlandse Bachvereniging is the oldest ensemble for Baroque music in the Netherlands, and possibly in the world. Choir and orchestra are internationally known as the Netherlands Bach Society...
and the Münchener Bach-Chor
Münchener Bach-Chor
Münchener Bach-Chor is a mixed choir for concert and oratorio in Munich. Performances, international tours and recordings with Karl Richter and the Münchener Bach-Orchester made the choir internationally known.- Heinrich-Schütz-Kreis :...
, among others. On 10 October 2004 he sang the tenor part of Beethoven's Mass in C major
Mass in C major (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his Mass in C major, Op. 86, to a commission from Prince Nikolaus Esterházy II in 1807. In fulfilling this commission, Beethoven was extending a tradition established by Joseph Haydn, who following his return from England in 1795 had composed one mass per year for the...
in the Bonn Minster
Bonn Minster
The Bonn Minster is one of Germany's oldest churches, having been built between the 11th and 13th centuries. At one point the church served as the cathedral for the Archbishopric of Cologne...
as part of the Beethovenfest. In 2007 he sang the part of Apollon in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo in a concert of the Rheingau Musik Festival
Rheingau Musik Festival
The Rheingau Musik Festival is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres...
. With the Johanneskantorei Düsseldorf he performed in 2008 Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man
The Armed Man
The Armed Man is a Mass by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, subtitled "A Mass for Peace". The piece was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum for the Millennium celebrations, and to mark the museum's move from London to Leeds, and it was dedicated to victims of the Kosovo crisis...
and in 2009 Mendelssohn's Paulus. In 2008 his interpretation of the Evangelist
Evangelist (Bach)
The Evangelist in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach is the tenor part in his oratorios and Passions who narrates the exact words of the Bible, translated by Martin Luther, in recitative, namely in the works St John Passion, St Matthew Passion, and the Christmas Oratorio, also in the St Mark...
in Bach's St John Passion in Cologne was termed "excellent, a factual witness showing empathy at times". He also performed the "great arias" in the two performances. In 2008 he sang the part of Uriel in several performances of Haydn's Die Schöpfung
The Creation structure
The Creation, the oratorio by Joseph Haydn, is structured in three parts. He composed it in 1796–1798 on German text as Die Schöpfung. The work is set for soloists, chorus and orchestra. Its movements are listed in tables for their form, voice, key, tempo marking, time signature and...
, in three churches of Berlin, in Bonn and in the Nicolaikirche, Dortmund. In 2009 he was the Evangelist in Bach's St Matthew Passion in St. Martin, Idstein
St. Martin, Idstein
St. Martin in Idstein, Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, is the church of the local Roman Catholic parish. The official name is Katholische Pfarrkirche St. Martin. The parish is part of the Diocese of Limburg...
, with Andreas Pruys
Andreas Pruys
- Professional career :Andreas Pruys studied singing and church music at the Folkwanghochschule in Essen. He worked as a church musician for several years, also as director of the music school in Emmerich. He has been a member of the choir NDR Chor since 2001....
(Vox Christi
Vox Christi
Vox Christi, Latin for Voice of Christ, is a term for the bass voice representing Jesus in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and others. This part appears prominently in Bach's Passions...
), Katia Plaschka
Katia Plaschka
Katia Plaschka is a German coloratura soprano who performs in opera, especially contemporary opera, and concert performances of oratorios.-Professional career:...
, Anne Bierwirth and Klaus Mertens
Klaus Mertens
Klaus Mertens is a German bass and bass-baritone singer who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.-Professional career:Klaus Mertens took singing lessons while attending school...
. He performed several parts in Handel's Saul
Saul (Handel)
Saul is an oratorio in three acts written by George Frideric Handel with a libretto by Charles Jennens. Taken from the 1st Book of Samuel, the story of Saul focuses on the first king of Israel’s relationship with his eventual successor, David; one which turns from admiration to envy and hatred,...
, the title role sung by Konrad Jarnot, with the Münchener Bach-Chor, conducted by Hansjörg Albrecht. He was the tenor soloist in Voices of Exile, Richard Blackford
Richard Blackford
Richard Blackford is an English composer.- Biography :Richard Blackford studied composition with John Lambert at the Royal College of Music and conducting with Norman del Mar. He spent a number of years as Henze’s assistant in Italy, where he received his first commissions while immersed in the...
's cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
for soloists, chamber orchestra, tape and choir, performed by the chamber choirs CONSONO (de) and CONSTANT, conducted by Harald Jers, at the music festival "Klangvocal" (vocal sound) in Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
. In 2010 he performed at the Staatsoper Stuttgart
Staatsoper Stuttgart
The Staatsoper Stuttgart is a German opera company based in Stuttgart, Germany.-History:The Stuttgart Staatsoper forms part of the Stuttgart State Theatre , which is a a three-branch-theatre complex and represents the largest theatre of its kind in Europe...
in the German premiere of Elena Kats-Chernin
Elena Kats-Chernin
Elena Kats-Chernin is an Australian composer.Elena Kats-Chernin was born in Tashkent , and migrated to Australia in 1975.-Europe:...
opera The Rage of Life. His opera roles include Mozart's Don Ottavio
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
and Belmonte
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
. With the Münchener Bach-Chor he performed a program around Mozart's Requiem
Requiem (Mozart)
The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...
, including compositions of Enjott Schneider
Enjott Schneider
Enjott Schneider is a German composer, musicologist, and music educator. As a composer he is best known for his film work, having won the Bavarian Film Award for Best Film Score in 1990, the Filmband in Gold in 1991, and the Deutscher Fernsehpreis in 2007, the latter for his work on March of...
, in the Philharmonie at the Gasteig
Gasteig
Gasteig is a cultural center in Munich, opened in 1985, which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule, and the municipal library are all located in the Gasteig...
, stepping in for Thomas Michael Allen. He was the Evangelist in the St Matthew Passion in the Berliner Philharmonie
Berliner Philharmonie
The Berliner Philharmonie is a concert hall in Berlin, Germany. Home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the building is acclaimed for both its acoustics and its architecture....
on 28 March 2010. In 2011 he appeared in the Kölner Philharmonie in Handel's Israel in Egypt with the Bach-Verein Köln (de). He sang in Bach's Mass in B minor, performed in the Johanneskirche Düsseldorf and Trinitatiskirche Cologne to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the chamber choir CONSONO. He performed the tenor part of Handel's Messiah in St. Martin, Idstein
St. Martin, Idstein
St. Martin in Idstein, Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, is the church of the local Roman Catholic parish. The official name is Katholische Pfarrkirche St. Martin. The parish is part of the Diocese of Limburg...
, with Katia Plaschka
Katia Plaschka
Katia Plaschka is a German coloratura soprano who performs in opera, especially contemporary opera, and concert performances of oratorios.-Professional career:...
, Andreas Scholl
Andreas Scholl
Andreas Scholl is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range. He is noted as a specialist in Baroque music.-Childhood:...
and Markus Flaig
Markus Flaig
-Professional career:Markus Flaig was born in Horb am Neckar. He studied sacred music and school music, then voice with Beata Heuer-Christen in Freiburg and with Berthold Possemeyer at the Hochschule für Musik Frankfurt. Since 2006 he has worked with Carol Meyer-Bruetting...
.
Recordings
Cordes participated in a recording of Johann MatthesonJohann Mattheson
Johann Mattheson was a German composer, writer, lexicographer, diplomat and music theorist.Mattheson was born and died in Hamburg. He was a close friend of George Frideric Handel, although he nearly killed him in a sudden quarrel, during a performance of Mattheson's opera Cleopatra in 1704...
's Christmas oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra Das größte Kind (The greatest child), conducted by Michael Willens, with the soloists also forming the choir.
In 2011 he was the Evangelist in a DVD of Bach's St Matthew Passion, recorded live at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels
The Paleis voor Schone Kunsten or Palais des Beaux-Arts is cultural venue in Brussels, Belgium. Often referred to as "Bozar" or "PSK", construction was completed in 1928 and includes exhibition and conference rooms, movie theater and concert hall which serves as home to the National Orchestra of...
, with Graeme Danby
Graeme Danby
Graeme Danby is an operatic bass who has performed at several of the world's leading opera houses, notably the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and the English National Opera. He was educated at the Royal Academy of Music in London...
(Vox Christi), conducted by Bart Van Reyn.
External links
- Ulrich Cordes website
- Ulrich Cordes klangvokal-dortmund.de