The Vlaams Radio Koor (VRK), or Flemish Radio Choir, have all that and more, in a series of concerts conducted by Timo Nuoranne that kicked off in Brussels last week and continues throughout Flanders until March.
The a cappella work by Whitacre is followed by the evening’s title piece: Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, written in Yiddish and presented here in a version adapted for choir, organ, harp, boy soprano and percussion. The unusual backing sets off the choir perfectly, although the organ was a touch too loud for this listener.
Bernstein returns later, but first comes a new work by Flemish jazz pianist Jef Neve, voted Musician of the Year at the recent Music Industry Awards. “I was commissioned to compose a work for choir, and I decided to go for something completely different – an Agnus Dei, which is a liturgical work from the Mass,” he explains.
In fact he strayed into the classical sphere last year with his piano concerto performed with the Flemish Radio Orchestra, but this is a new departure into a vocal work. “I used the Latin text, but I also wrote a text in English, which is a personal vision of the power of the Church and the use of symbols like the Lamb of God. I wrote it in English because it’s more accessible, but you’re not likely to hear this text sung in church.”
After an intermezzo for solo piano, the choir comes back, and he accompanies them in extracts from West Side Story (which even the impressive talents of the VRK, only 24 strong, cannot convince me is a work that should be sung by choir). They conclude with the short Ilo by Finnish composer Jukka Linkola that’s like a fireworks display – a fitting end to a performance marked by variety, power and emotion.
Flanders Today is a 
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