Water & Spirit (2019) - Windsbacher Knabenchor, Simone Rubino (Percussion).

Walter: Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist
+Bach: Motette BWV 226 "Der Geist hilft unsrer Schwachheit auf"
+Maurus: Veni creator spiritus
+Rubino: Born of Water
+Renner: Veni creator spiritus op. 34a
+Brahms: Motette op. 29 Nr. 2 "Schaffe in mir, Gott, ein rein Herz"
+Becker: Motette op. 37 Nr. 3 "Komm, heiliger Geist"
+Vogt: Psalm 31 "In deine Hände befehle ich meinen Geist"
+Schütz: Motette SWV 391 "Selig sind die Toten"
+Poulenc: Motette "Tenebrae facte sunt"
+Pepping: Motette "Jesus und Nikodemus"
+Reger: Motette op. 138 "Nachtlied"
+Busto: Pater noster
+Dun: Autumn & Winter aus Percussionkonzert "The Tears of Nature"; Water Spirit aus "Water Concerto" 

More than 1,200 years ago the Pentecostal hymn "Veni creator spiritus" sounded for the first time during the Aachen Council. This hymn, which longs for the presence of the Holy Spirit, was probably composed by the scholar, abbot and archbishop Rabanus Maurus. Since then, "Veni creator spiritus - Komm, Schöpfer Geist" has not only been an integral part of the Western liturgy. In the course of the rich history of music, this singing inspired the greatest composers from Bach to Brahms and Max Reger to arrangements and new settings. The internationally acclaimed Windsbacher Knabenchor has now put together a versatile a cappella programme for their new album "Water & Spirit", which revolves around the Whitsun hymn.

Motets and psalms can be heard from the Baroque (Heinrich Schütz among others) to the classical modern period (Francis Poulenc) to the present (Javier Busto). In addition, world-class percussionist Simone Rubino was invited as a special guest to combine the spirit of tradition with modernity in works by Chinese composer Tan Dun and his own pieces composed exclusively for the Windsbacher Knabenchor. For Martin Lehmann, artistic director of the Knabenchor, the sound of the voice and the percussion complemented each other in the most beautiful way: "Already at the first rehearsals our singers were fascinated by the timbres he produced with marimba and vibraphone, glockenspiel or gongs. They are an ideal complement to our partly equally spherical choral sound." On the motets of Luther's contemporary Johann Walter and Johann Sebastian Bach, the Windsbacher Knabenchor presents the original Pentecostal hymn "Veni creator spiritus" in a special version at the beginning of the album. Thus Rubino plays around the choral singing with spherical sounds. Gregorianik in marimba sound - such surprising reinterpretations of sacred masterpieces form the red thread of this album.

Rubino's piece "Born of Water and Spirit" for percussion and vocals can also be heard in a world premiere recording. Vocalises are accompanied by simple rhythmic elements and the rhythm is continuously increased to a climax. "Water has an important place in this play," says Rubino. "Water produces the sound of all the percussion instruments in the composition, such as the deep sound of the wood bowls. The song embodies spirituality and faith: faith in God, faith in oneself, faith in others, faith in life..."

The spirituality and reflection of creation that this piece deals with continues in the percussion concert "The Tears of Nature" by Tan Dun, from which Rubino interprets two solo cadenzas. Finally, "Water & Spirit" ends with a "Father Noster" by the Spaniard Javier Busto, which in the joint interpretation of the Windsbacher Knabenchor and Simone Rubino proves to be a fascinatingly refined game between archaic and modern.