Voorburgs Vocaal Ensemble
The Voorburgs Vocaal Ensemble (VVE) is a chamber choir consisting of approximately 30 enthusiastic and dedicated members. The choir was founded in 1978 and since 1987 Marijke van Klaveren has been the choir’s inspirational leader and conductor.
Repertoire
Over the years, the VVE has built up a broad repertoire. This includes both sacred and secular music from virtually all stylistic periods. Music by Byrd, Brahms and Britten, as well as works by lesser-known composers such as Rheinberger, Golle and Nystedt, are regularly featured in the programme.
Within the broad spectrum covered by the choir, there is a slight preference for music from the twentieth century with an impressionistic character.
These are often polyphonic compositions for a cappella choir, but the choir also collaborates with vocal or instrumental soloists and ensembles, such as for Duruflé’s Requiem performed in 2024 with the Musicanti children’s choir and organist Francesca Ajossa on the Cavaillé-Coll organ of the Waalse Kerk in The Hague.
The well-known Requiems by Mozart and Fauré, the lesser-known Requiem by Daley, the spectacular Chichester Psalms by Bernstein, and Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle are just a few examples of major works from the VVE’s repertoire.
The Voorburgs Vocaal Ensemble also has an appealing Passion repertoire with works that are performed less often than Bach’s St Matthew Passion, such as Via Crucis, by Frans Liszt, Matthäus Passion by Heinrich Schütz, De Veertien Stonden (“14 Stations of the Cross”), by Hendrik Andriessen, and the Choral Passion op. 7 (1932) by Hugo Distler.
In recent years, the VVE has also developed Passion concerts under the title “Passio in musica”, in which a combination of works from different eras, from Gregorian to contemporary, takes the listener through the various aspects of Jesus’s Passion.
Activities
The VVE organises its own concerts, performs in concert series and contributes to church services. On average, six performances are given each year.
Once a year, a study weekend is organised, during which not only intensive work is done on the choir’s repertoire and sound, but there is also room for socialising.
The choir has travelled to the United Kingdom several times, where it has participated in church services, replacing the “local” children’s choir during their school holidays. Singing at Evensong in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin is an unforgettable experience! A new trip is planned for 2027…