Ensemble Bleu is a chamber choir affiliated to the Catholic Church of St George in Küsnacht, Switzerland. Founded by Andreas Gut in 2010 and consisting currently of 24 permanent singers, the group performs in varying formations in services and concerts at St George's and other churches. Performances have included major choral works such as Handel's Messiah, Bach's St Matthew Passion and Christmas Oratorio as well as Requiems by Mozart, Brahms, Rutter and Fauré; the ensemble also cultivates a considerable repertoire of sacred a cappella music ranging from Josquin's Missa Pange Lingua and Gregorio's Miserere through motets by Bach, Mendelssohn and Bruckner to French and English modernism. In August 2017 Ensemble Bleu was one of the visiting choirs at Lincoln Cathedral. In the same year Joachim Schwander took over as their new director, developing further the choir's tonal culture and their stylistic range. The ensemble name and the colour of the performers' ties and scarves are reminders of the blue robes the choir used to wear during services in their early days.
Emanuele Jannibelli studied organ with Jakob Wittwer and later with Rudolf Meyer at the Conservatoire of Winterthur (Switzerland), where he obtained his concert diploma with distinction in 1993. Further studies led him to Ludger Lohmann in Stuttgart and Marie-Louise Langlais in Paris. At the latter place he earned the Prix d'excellence in 1995. He also holds a piano teaching diploma, having been taught by Boris Mersson and Katharina Auf der Maur. Emanuele specialises in collaborating with various prestigious choirs and in the performance of contemporary music. He has had recitals in major venues across Switzerland and Europe, including Lausanne Cathedral, Grossmünster and Tonhalle in Zurich, Einsiedeln Abbey, Salzburg Cathedral and Notre Dame de Paris. He was titular organist at Glarus Stadtkirche, where he has made a number of very well-received recordings. Since 2014 he is organist at the Catholic Church of St George in Küsnacht, a role which he combines with teaching at Zurich Hochschule der Künste.
Joachim Schwander has been Organist and Director of Music at St George's Küsnacht since April 2017, where he conducts the four choirs, plays the organ in the three churches of the parish and oversees a wide range of musical activities happening in and around St George's. Trained in Zurich, Strasbourg and London, his teachers have included Stefan Johannes Bleicher, Daniel Maurer and Nicolas Kynaston (organ), Hans Brian (piano), David Lawrence and Markus Utz (choral direction) and Rodolfo Saglimbeni (orchestral direction). Prior to his appointment to St George's, Joachim had a busy career as an organ recitalist, music journalist, accompanist and choral conductor. From 2009 to 2017 Joachim lived in the UK, which brought him into close contact with the Anglican choral tradition. Open to a broad musical repertoire spanning from Gregorian Chant to contemporary classical music, his musical interests reach beyond the boundaries of classical music. A versatile improvisor on the organ, Joachim has collaborated with musicians from his local jazz, folk and techno scenes. This stylistic variety is also reflected in the various choral groups which he directs.
Ludovico Grossi da Viadana (c.1560-1627)
Exsultate justi
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter, BWV 650
Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672)
Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt
Melchior Franck (1579-1639)
Und er rief und sprach
Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911)
Allegretto in B Minor op. 19
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847)
Richte mich, Gott (Psalm 43)
Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich
Jauchzet dem Herrn alle Welt (Psalm 100)
Joseph Gabriel Rheinberger (1839-1901)
Missa brevis in F
Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus
Benedictus
Agnus Dei
Alexandre Guilmant
Scherzo in C Minor, from Sonata no. 5
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Cherubic Hymn No 1
Cherubic Hymn No 3
Joachim Schwander (b. 1978)
Mein Herr und mein Gott
Herr, nun selbst den Wagen halt
Theo Wegmann (b. 1951)
Trumpet Tune
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Let all the world in every corner sing
