Veni, veni, Emmanuel

Raimund Wippermann, born in 1956, studied church and school music in Cologne and Düsseldorf as well as choral conducting at the Stockholm Music Academy. Since 2004 he has been director of the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf.

The longing of the believing individual for God's presence in our world in speech and music and making it 'sing' in the end – this is the intention on which this piece is based. In this spirit, the old Advent hymn 'Veni, veni, Emmanuel' is combined here with linguistic and musical expressions of our time. The improvising singing will certainly be delightful for singers of all age groups after initial difficulties. The choral setting with its largely modal harmony is not complicated; however, the singers should have some experience in sustaining dissonances.

The piece is ideal to approach sacred evening music in the Advent season, leading to quiet and calm.