The nightingale

The musical fairy tale "The Nightingale" was commissioned by the Berlin Girls' Choir and the Girls' Choir of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin in 2011 for the age group of 8 - 12-year-old girls.
Sabine Wüsthoff brings the fairy tale to life musically with her very own harmonies, creating singable, appealing melodies which - accompanied by a string quartet and an accordion - unfold a very special sound magic. The use of pentatonic, modal and acoustic scales as well as fourths and mixtures is reminiscent of Debussy's tonal language. References to modern jazz and musicals can be discovered through characteristic rhythms and chord combinations.
The special feature of the musical structure of the work is the connection between the old and the new: the new composition of the song of the nightingale and its musical theme on the one hand is contrasted by the weaving of traditional folk songs into the overall composition of music and text. Sabine Wüsthoff succeeds masterfully in combining these different musical and stylistic levels of old and new texts, old and new melodies into a unity through motifs, tonal language and instrumentation.
This connection between the "old" and the "new" is also reflected in the dramaturgical concept: on the one side is the fairy tale with its old language, on the other side are the Berlin girls of today, who immerse themselves in this fairy-tale world. The children on stage symbolize, "sound out" and live through these two levels of time. The work is framed by the canonical piece "Weißt du wohl ein Geheimnis?", which is musically condensed from a whisper and murmur and opens the narrative of the fairy tale, as if one were whispering the story of the wondrous bird to the other like a secret.

Performers:

Charlotte Girls' Choir and Girls' Choir II of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin

Marjolaine Locher, Klara Mille - violin
Henriette Brunner - viola
Bo Wiget - violoncello
Christine Paté - accordion

Voice training: Helena Köhne

Musical assistance: Johanna Walch

Choreography: Eva Blaschke

Text editing and lyrics: Anke Schüler
Concept: Gudrun Luise Gierszal

Speaker and director: Eva Spaeth
Direction: Friederike Stahmer